Zardari urged to address anti-press attacks
NEW YORK – As President Asif Ali Zardari visits Washington, the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the Pakistani leader to address growing anti-press attacks in his country.
“Pakistan’s foundering security situation affects everyone in his country, but journalistsÂ’ deaths are particularly egregious. Un-investigated, un-prosecuted attacks on journalists undermine the country’s tradition of a free press,” Bob Dietz, CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator, said in a statement. “It is an issue that needs attention from the highest levels of the Government in Pakistan.”
A statement issued by Masood Haider, Coordinator of the New York-based Coalition of Pakistani Journalists in USA, also called on Zardari to step up protection of working journalists in Pakistan.
“We are outraged at the unending murders of working journalists in Pakistan. The Government of President Asif Ali Zardari has utterly failed – as it has on other fronts – in its duty to protect the lives of its citizens, especially journalists. We call on him to provide protection to the journalists who are engaged in their professional work.”
Pakistan was the deadliest country in the world in 2010, according to CPJ data. At least eight journalists were killed on the job, six in suicide bombings or militant strikes, and two in targeted assassinations. The country ranks 10th on CPJ’s Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are slain and killers go free. At least 12 journalist murders have gone unsolved over the past decade.
Source: The Nation
Date:1/16/2011
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