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…
Attacks on the Press 2000: Pakistan
THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE GEN. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF sought to create an impression of benign rule last year. In part, this meant avoiding the bare-knuckle tactics that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used to control the press. However, Musharraf’s patience with his critics seemed to be wearing thin toward the end of 2000, and…
Pakistan: Journalists arrested for blasphemy
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply dismayed by the recent arrests of at least a dozen employees of the English-language newspaper The Frontier Post and its sister publication, the Urdu-language daily Maidan. District officials in Peshawar, where both newspapers are published, ordered the arrests and sealed The Frontier Post’s printing press without having conducted any investigation into allegations of blasphemy against the daily.
Pakistan: Journalist murdered by local gagster
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the May 2 murder of Sufi Mohammad Khan, an investigative reporter with the Daily Ummat Karachi. While we are relieved that the gunman and two accomplices are now in police custody, we believe, based on interviews with local sources, that others involved in this crime may still be at large. We call on you to ensure that a complete and impartial investigation is carried out.
Attacks on the Press 1999: Pakistan
Former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to muzzle the press, and bring the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government under his personal control, earned him the reputation of a tyrant and badly discredited Pakistan’s democracy. His slide toward authoritarianism ended abruptly with a bloodless coup on October 12, in which army chief Gen.…