• December 30, 2018
• Freedom of Expression, Media and Governance, Print Media, Television

“Sneaky”, “sinister” and “Orwellian” are just some of the words Pakistani journalists and human rights defenders used to describe the censorship and growing clampdown on dissent, mainstream and social media in their country over the past year. Although previous Pakistani governments also put pressure on civil society and the media, this year, many Pakistanis working in these […]

• December 30, 2018
• Arts and Entertainment, Broadcasting, Freedom of Expression, Governance, Media and Governance, Media and Society, New Media, Social Media, Television

Pakistan’s politics repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce. So, while you may initially be inclined to shed tears over it, a better reaction, I humbly suggest, might be to enjoy the absurdities for what they are. It is the greatest comic show, better than anything you could find on Netflix. And it certainly […]

• December 30, 2018
• Freedom of Expression, Front Page, Media and Governance, Television

Last year March 27 was undoubtedly a tragic day in Sialkot when Zeeshan Butt, a local journalist working for a Lahore-based newspaper (Nawa-e-Waqt), was on phone. He was talking to the Sialkot District Council Chairperson Hina Arshad Warraich and complaining about death threats hurled on him by a PML-N backed Union Council Chairman Imran Cheema. […]

• December 30, 2018
• Arts and Entertainment, Television

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Dickens — and that fateful line has ended up summing up so many year-end reviews like this one. “… it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” he had written on. Once again, words that fit so well […]

• December 30, 2018
• Arts and Entertainment

MINGORA: A two-day Malam Jabba Snow Festival got underway in the scenic valley of Swat district on Saturday. Commissioner Malakand Division Syed Zaheerul Islam inaugurated the festival. Deputy Commissioner Swat Saqib Raza, officials from the civil administration and tourists from across the country were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Syed Zaheerul Islam […]

• December 30, 2018
• Media and Governance, Media Ethics, Television

ISLAMABAD: In an interesting turn of events, both the counsel for Dr Shahid Masood and the investigating officer (IO), who was probing the anchorperson in state-run TV corruption case, have strongly criticised the court decision to reject anchorperson’s bail plea. The anchorperson who is accused of causing loss of Rs37 million to national exchequer during […]