Pakistan should support International Day to End Impunity
New York, November 18, 2013–As one of the focus countries for implementation of the U.N. Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity, a strong statement on November 23, the International Day to End Impunity, would affirm that the Pakistani government has political will to investigate and punish the murderers of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists stated in a letter to Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan.
In Pakistan, one journalist murdered, another attacked
New York, October 15, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Pakistani Minister of Information Pervaiz Rasheed to follow through on a public commitment he made last week to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate attacks against journalists. Since his statement, one journalist was murdered on Friday and another was beaten on Thursday, according to…
Chishti abducted, beaten: Challenge for Pakistan
Ali Chishti, who writes for The Friday Times, has gone public in Islamabad with details of his abduction and beating last Friday, August 30. Chishti is making the rounds of TV talk shows describing how he was picked up in Karachi by uniformed police driving a police vehicle, blindfolded, switched to another police vehicle, taken…
Pakistan Prime Minister should address abuse of journalists
New York, September 6, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Pakistani government to ensure that there is a full investigation into the abduction and beating of a journalist for The Friday Times. Ali Chishti, who writes on national security and counter-terrorism, told CPJ and local news outlets that he was abducted and beaten…
A fine and shifting line for Pakistan’s media
The government of Balochistan, the troubled southwestern province of Pakistan, registered a case against national television news channel ARY on Monday, August 26, after it aired a video clip of the destruction of the residence of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammed Ali Jinnah. The case was filed under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997, claiming that airing the…
Pakistan should allow access for foreign journalists
Dear Prime Minister Sharif: We are writing to express our deep concern about the expulsion of at least three foreign journalists from Pakistan. While Pakistan remains a dangerous country for journalists, we are concerned that it is also fast becoming inhospitable to international correspondents.
Colleagues call for Walsh’s return to Pakistan
In our report, “Roots of Impunity: Pakistan’s Endangered Press and the Perilous Web of Militancy, Security, and Politics,” we included a long list of recommendations for the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to undertake to combat assaults on journalists and impunity in their murders. But there is a step Sharif could take immediately…
The Media in Pakistan: Security Challenges
“The Media in Pakistan: Security Challenges” Elizabeth Rubin, independent journalist and author of CPJ’sreport, Roots of Impunity: Pakistan’sEndangered Press, and CPJ Board member Ahmed Rashid, author of Pakistan on the Brink, spoke at Chatham House in London.
Sharif’s challenge: Work with Pakistani press, not against it
Pakistan’s general elections in May, though marred by violence that left more than 100 dead, was a reaffirmation of the people’s commitment to the democratic process. Voters proved once again that they can make decisions based on their own political interests–and not because of intimidation by those who would perpetrate violence. The media, with their…