Saleem Shahzad

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Shan Dahar’s death underscores impunity in Pakistan

After more than a week since journalist Shan Dahar’s death, it remains unclear whether he was killed in an accident or targeted for murder–and if targeted, why. The confusion serves as yet another example of how weak investigations and a lack of accountability have become the hallmarks of journalist killings in Pakistan.

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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…

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1,000 deaths: Journalists who gave their lives

When Mick Deane was killed in Egypt on Wednesday, he became the 1,000th journalist documented by CPJ as having died in direct relation to his work. The photos above, a sampling of those who have died over the past 21 years, serve as a powerful reminder of the cost of critical, independent journalism.

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Justice consistently eludes slain Pakistani journalists

May 30, 2013–On the second anniversary of the murder of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to continue investigating and find his killers. An official commission of inquiry concluded in January 2012 that the perpetrators in Shazahd’s case were unknown, and there has been no further movement in the…

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Baluch journalist reported missing in Karachi

New York, March 28, 2013–Pakistani authorities should determine the whereabouts of a Baluch journalist living in Karachi who was last seen on March 24, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Pakistani journalist holds a sign at a protest against Shahzad's murder in Karachi last year. (AFP/Rizwan Tabassum)

One year later: Saleem Shahzad’s case is buried

On May 21 this year, a military court convicted three Pakistani naval officers of negligence and dereliction of duty for their actions during an attack on the main naval airbase in the heart of Karachi on May 22, 2011. After the incident had ended, the military said 10 security guards were killed, two aircraft were…

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Journalist Hayatullah Khan, shown in the picture above surrounded by his family, was killed in 2006. (AP/Abdullah Noor)

Pakistan’s response to UNESCO shows true colors

In case there was any doubt about the stance of Pakistani authorities on the murder of journalists, UNESCO’s 28th biennial session offered an instructive insight. In addition to discussing the U.N. Draft Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity during the meeting, held in Paris in March, member states…

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Pakistani military stand guard during a protest by journalists over the death of Saleem Shahzad in June 2011. (AP/B.K.Bangash)

Threats and menace: Pakistan’s war on words

In Pakistan, the term “a war of words” can take on a menacing dimension beyond the metaphorical. Words–written, spoken, or reported–regularly land journalists in trouble, a very literal, physical sort of trouble. Reporters have become accustomed to being threatened, and over the years they’ve seen threats sometimes build to abductions, beatings, and even death. Such…

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Police in Santiago seize a photographer during an anti-government demonstration. (Reuters/Carlos Vera)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Abolishing Censorship

Even as trade and new systems of communication turn us into global citizens, the information we need to ensure accountability often stops at national borders. New platforms like social media are valuable tools, but the battle against censorship is hardly over. By Joel Simon

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A demonstrator holds a poster with the photo of slain Pakistani journalist Wali Khan Babar and the question, 'Why?' (AP/Mohammad Sajjad)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Pakistani Media Look Inward

As journalists continue to be targeted, the government of Asif Ali Zardari has shown itself unable and unwilling to stand up for a free press. Whatever solutions exist will have to be found by people in the profession. By Bob Dietz

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