Pakistan must pursue killers of Zaman Mehsud and bring them to justice
New York, November 3, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Pakistan to investigate the killing of local journalist Zaman Mehsud who, according to reports, was shot dead in the Tank district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province today.
Reporter killed in third attack on Pakistani journalists in 24 hours
New York, September 9, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the violence against journalists and media workers in Pakistan after three separate attacks in 24 hours. Former Geo News business reporter Aftab Alam was killed outside his home in Karachi today by two gunmen, according to media reports. The shooting came less than…
Pakistani government mandates guidelines for broadcasters
New York, August 21, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the sweeping nature of guidelines from Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for on-air news coverage and commentary on the nation’s television and radio channels. The Electronic Media (Programs and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015 was made public Thursday in Pakistan and is…
In Pakistan, Geo bureau chief abducted and robbed, then released
New York, July 27, 2015–Unidentified armed men in Pakistan abducted the Karachi bureau chief of the TV channel Geo News on Saturday and beat and robbed him before releasing him, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Faheem Siddiqui’s abduction and calls on Pakistani authorities to ensure the assailants are held to…
CPJ troubled by report US spied on Al-Jazeera journalist in Pakistan
New York, May 8, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a report that the U.S. National Security Agency carried out intensive surveillance of Al Jazeera’s Islamabad bureau chief, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, based on suspicion that he was a member of Al-Qaeda. The Intercept reported today that the NSA’s information supporting its claim…
Pakistani journalist Muhammud Rasool Dawar under threat
We get a fairly steady stream of journalists in Asia asking for assistance. The majority of the requests come from journalists who have been threatened, and the threats can come from just about anywhere: militant groups, the military, government officials, powerful local politicians, arms runners, and drug dealers.
Between conflict and stability: Journalists in Pakistan and Mexico cope with everyday threats
By Daniel DeFraia The Pakistani journalist knew the risk, but he wrote the story about the militants anyway. Years earlier he had been shot, after reporting on another taboo subject, but for him the freelance work was thrilling, even after he had to marry his girlfriend in secret and flee Pakistan without her–and still now,…
Evolution of Pakistan’s proposed cybercrime law
A pointer to our colleagues at Bolo Bhi, Pakistan’s independent Internet freedom and electronic privacy watchdog (it’s involved in gender issues too). The watchdog has been tracking the evolution of Pakistan’s attempts at cybercrime legislation since 2007.
A year after Raza Rumi attack, little change for Pakistan’s beleaguered press
One year ago Raza Rumi, a TV anchor and widely-respected analyst in Pakistan, narrowly escaped death when gunmen opened fire on his car in an attack that killed his driver, Mustafa. When I wrote about the March 28 attack, the fourth on the Express Group in eight months that had left four people dead, I…
Mission Journal: Finding a legal solution to siege of Pakistan’s media
Pakistan’s media, long under siege, face new challenges. “We had managed to get the genie out of the lamp,” was the way one Pakistani journalist explained it to me during a trip there last month. “But now, the military has pushed it back in and I’m not sure when we’ll be able to get it…