Media restrictions under reconsideration in Pakistan
New York, April 11, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the new Pakistani government’s move to lift restrictions on media imposed by President Pervez Musharraf last year. Information Minister Sherry Rehman today introduced a parliamentary bill to repeal amendments made to media laws when Musharraf suspended the constitution in November 2007, according to international news…
Three reporters missing in Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan province
New York, March 6, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the fate of three reporters for Azadi, an Urdu-language daily in the unstable southwestern province of Baluchistan. Two have gone missing in the past several days, while the third disappeared on November 30. Reporter Hameed Baloch disappeared on Monday from the town of…
CPJ concerned about press freedom during Pakistani elections
New York, February 15, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the safety of journalists who confront restrictions placed on the media in the run-up to Pakistani parliamentary elections on February 18. “We know the commitment of Pakistani journalists to serving the interests of their viewers and readers, and we fear that the government…
Pakistani journalist killed by gunman
New York, February 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Dr. Chishti Mujahid, a columnist for the weekly magazine Akbar-e-Jehan, who was shot and killed in a targeted attack outside his home in Quetta on Saturday. Mujahid, an eye doctor who had written a column for more than 20 years, was shot…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Pakistan
The December 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto plunged the nation into further turmoil after months of violent unrest and a bitterly contested state of emergency. An aggressive domestic press corps was in the middle of the momentous events, questioning government assertions and being targeted by government censorship.
CPJ decries government pressure on Pakistani television station
New York, January 22, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that the government of President Pervez Musharraf unfairly pressured GEO TV, Pakistan’s largest and most popular independent broadcaster, to modify its editorial policies before the station was allowed to resume domestic cable distribution on Monday. The station has been off domestic cable since November…
In expulsion case, Pakistani assertions ring hollow
New York, January 16, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects claims made by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that CPJ’s alert on the expulsion of U.S. journalist Nicholas Schmidle was “misleading and factually incorrect.” The ministry’s remarks were made in a prepared opening statement to a press briefing in Islamabad today and repeated in response…
Pakistani journalists face warrantless arrests
New York, December 3, 2007 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned by the Pakistani government’s authorization of police to arrest without warrant members of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), the country’s largest media organization. The legal move also mentions members of the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Union of Journalists, Pakistan’s largest local journalist…
