Attacks on the Press 2003: Pakistan
Although the press in Pakistan enjoyed greater freedom under its president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, journalists there still operate under pressure from the military, religious hard-liners, intelligence agencies, and the country’s antiquated blasphemy laws.
Attacks on the Press 2002: Pakistan
Pakistani journalists have long navigated a treacherous course, threatened by militant groups, criminal gangs, political bosses, and powerful intelligence agencies, but the rest of the world scarcely noticed these dangers until the assassination of American reporter Daniel Pearl. Months after Pearl’s murder, another journalist was killed in Pakistan: Shahid Soomro. Like Pearl, Soomro was killed…
CPJ mourns the bombing death of Pakistani tribal journalist
New York, June 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with our colleagues at the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) in mourning the death of Noor Hakim Khan, a correspondent for the Daily Pakistan and vice president of the TUJ in Peshawar. According to local media reports, Hakim was one of five people killed by…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Pakistan
Working as a journalist in Pakistan has long been a tricky business, and the threats only intensified after September 11, when the military government repudiated the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and then Islamist militant groups at home in order to align itself with the United States in a global “war on terror.”
Pakistani and international journalists appeal for Pearl’s releaseRead the February 1 New York Times article by ex-hostage Terry Anderson
New York, February 12, 2002—CPJ is hopeful that apparent progress made by Pakistani authorities in their investigation of the abduction of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl will soon lead to the journalist’s safe release. Police said today that they have arrested Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, whom they have identified as the chief suspect in…
Pakistani Journalist Group Appeals for Release of Daniel Pearlread Yesterday’s Appeal by a Group of International Journalists
February 1, 2002 I, being the president of Hazara Union of Journalists and Secretary General, Press Club, Abbottabad, Pakistan appeal to the abductors/captors of Daniel Pearl to release the WSJ reporter unconditionally and immediately. Islam does not permit or cordone such acts. Rather it teaches us to show hospitality to even one’s enemies let alone…
CPJ demands release of French journalist and Pakistani guides
New York, October 16, 2001—CPJ is deeply concerned by the prolonged detention of French journalist Michel Peyrard and his guides, Pakistani nationals Mukkaram Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime has accused all three of spying, a charge that carries the death penalty. Peyrard is a reporter for the weekly magazine Paris Match. Khan,…
TALIBAN CHARGE FRENCH JOURNALIST AND TWO PAKISTANI GUIDES WITH ESPIONAGE
October 10, 2001, New York—CPJ is deeply concerned by the ruling Taliban’s announcement that journalist Michel Peyrard and his guides, Mukkaram Khan and Mohammad Irfan, will be tried on charges of espionage. Peyrard, a French national, is a reporter for the weekly magazine Paris Match. Khan, a Pakistani, is the regional correspondent in Mohmand Agency…
TALIBAN ARREST FRENCH JOURNALIST AND TWO PAKISTANI GUIDES
New York, October 9, 2001—CPJ is deeply concerned about the detention of French journalist Michel Peyrard and his two Pakistani guides in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A Taliban official has accused Peyrard, a reporter for the magazine Paris Match, of spying. The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), a Pakistan-based news agency with close links to the Taliban, reported…