Journalists` murder
GIVEN the worsening security situation, it is not surprising that Pakistan is considered deadly for journalists. Amnesty International’s recent report says that during 2010, the maximum number of journalists killed in connection with their work anywhere in the world was in Pakistan, with eight deaths. The Committee to Protect Journalists similarly labelled Pakistan the “world’s deadliest country for the press in 2010”. This grim picture is unlikely to change. The rise in terror attacks and suicide bombings renders the task of journalists fraught with danger. In urban areas they have often been caught up in acts of violence. Meanwhile, the courageous journalists who undertake to bring the news from the country’s trouble spots, such as Fata or Balochistan, find themselves at equal risk from militants and security forces.
Additionally, so far this year, at least three journalists have died in targeted attacks: Wali Khan Babar, a reporter with Geo News, was shot dead in Karachi in January; Nasrullah Afridi, who worked for Pakistan Television and the Mashreq newspaper, died in Peshawar in early May when his car exploded; and most recently, Moharram Ali Sheikh, a cameraman for Mehran TV, was killed in Pir Jo Goth on Tuesday.
Others have been harassed, threatened and abducted. Never, though, has the state made it a priority to bring the culprits to justice. The CPJ placed Pakistan at number 10 on its 2010 Impunity Index, which highlights countries where journalists are killed regularly but in which governments fail to solve the crimes. Indeed, it notes that “Pakistani authorities have won convictions in only one case in the past decade, the murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002”. As long as those who harass journalists are allowed to operate with impunity, media persons’ ability to work in an environment free from intimidation will continue to be compromised.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/20/2011
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