Targeting journalists
The deaths of two journalists in Wana and the filing of a sedition case against two Karachi-based journalists is proof that practitioners of this difficult profession in the country often have to face more than their fair share of occupational hazards. The two journalists killed were on their way back from covering a surrender ceremony when they were caught in an ambush.
In all probability those behind this act were elements opposed to the amnesty deal and the government’s policy in the region. But the journalists were only doing their duty, and it is cruel that they should have been so brutally murdered. The government must act swiftly to catch the culprits and consider steps to provide security to journalists caught up in difficult situations.
It should itself stop harassing the press, as evidenced by the filing of cases under the Official Secrets Act against the reporter and editor of a Karachi newspaper. Their alleged crime seems to be the publication of a report which, according to Sindh’s home minister, has harmed the national interest.
The report in question was based on official correspondence between a senior official of the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC), a federal body tasked with fighting terrorism, and his counterparts in the provincial bureaucracies. Without going into the details of the correspondence, it would be fair to point out that the letter’s existence has not been denied. Second, given the nature of the NCMC and its mandate, it is debatable whether publishing a report based on correspondence with provincial officials is against the national interest.
In any case, if the Sindh government is upset over the report, it should have taken up the matter with the federal government. The cases against the two journalists seem like yet another attempt to browbeat the press, and should be withdrawn. The whole business of Official Secrets Act needs to be reviewed.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/9/2005
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