• November 1, 2024
• Freedom of Expression, Front Page, General News, Media and Society
• Web Admin

Repeated cycles of violence and a climate of censorship plague the media in Pakistan. On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) calls on all duty bearers to act immediately to reverse course in the alarming situation for the safety of journalists and media professionals in Pakistan. It is completely unacceptable that year after year, the number of murdered journalists keeps rising and media professionals continue to face threats and acts of violence promoting fear and self censorship amongst the media. Meanwhile, the restrictive environment continues to be tightened through regulatory measures, legislation, and enforced censorship.

PPF draws immediate attention to the alarming situation for the safety of the media, the dismal progress and implementation of media safety legislation to protect journalists, and the lack of accountability in even the worst attacks on the media i.e. murders. It is unacceptable that over the years, despite changes in government and claims of support for journalists by different political parties, journalists in Pakistan continue to face direct risks for their work. 

The government and other duty bearers, including political party leadership, law enforcement agencies, and the judiciary, must commit to ending the nearly absolute impunity enjoyed by those who target journalists and ensure that instead of regressing, the landscape for media safety in Pakistan can improve. 

Physical violence, including targeted murders, and the threats to journalists, have unfortunately become the norm in Pakistan. While media professionals face dire and direct consequences in the line of duty, the perpetrators of these attacks continue to enjoy high levels of impunity, perpetuating the cycles of violence against the media.

In 2024, PPF has documented at least 117 confirmed instances of violence, intimidation, restrictive regulation, and censorship of the media, including: 

• • Two murders
  • 48 instances of assault
  • Three cases of detention
  • Seven cases of assault and detention
  • Two arrests
  • Five attacks on the property including raids
  • 13 cases of threats and harassment majority of which were online (nine)
  • One instance of remarks targeting media 
  • Five cases registered
  • Three instances of FIA action
  • Two instances of other legal action
  • Two instances of placement on Exit Control List (ECL)
  • 24 instances of censorship including legislation or policies that would affect free expression, restrictive directives or notices to media outlets, internet, and social media closures. 

Although PPF documented 13 killings or murders of journalists and media professionals between January and October 2024, at least two murders were clearly related to the journalist’s work — Khalil Jibran and Bachal Ghunio. 

It is crucial to ensure effective and conclusive investigations into the murder of journalists so that motives can be confirmed, it can be determined whether it was due to a media professional’s work, and the perpetrators can be brought to justice. 

Recommendations

To break the cycles of violence and resulting impunity, commitments must go beyond words of support through action taken at different levels, including:

• Justice must be served to those who perpetrate violent acts against journalists in different forms, most significantly through murders and killings. Justice for these crimes is not only a matter of individual accountability but is essential to preserving the integrity of the media and the functioning of democracy. 

• Investigations into attacks on the media must reach their logical end. The high rates of impunity in the murder of journalists are entirely unacceptable. The government and relevant authorities, including law enforcement and judiciary, must ensure that all cases of journalists’ murders are properly investigated and, where necessary, cases or investigations are reopened. Those killing incidents that are in court must have regular hearings and lead to convictions rather than the current norm of inconclusive court cases for, in some cases, decades. 

• The much-delayed Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021, must be established immediately by the federal government without any further delays.

• Forming the independent commission mandated by the law is critical to investigating and prosecuting attacks on journalists. Once established, the federal media safety commission must function as an active body that investigates all incidents of attacks on journalists. 

• The chairperson for the Sindh Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners under the Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act, 2021, must immediately be appointed following the resignation of former chairperson retired Justice Nazar Akbar and the lack of clarity on appointments in the Commission must be addressed.

• The Sindh Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners must be an actively and effectively functioning body so that incidents of violence at the provincial level can be reported, investigated, and addressed. 

• Under both laws, the federal and Sindh governments are falling short of achieving their objectives to address impunity. The federal media safety law states that the government will implement best practices provided for in the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. The Sindh law states that the government will develop and implement effective strategies to combat impunity, including coordinating with stakeholders to implement best practices in the UN Plan of Action. The laws are binding, and the governments must fulfill their responsibilities.

• The lack of media safety legislation at the provincial level in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan provinces in the midst of violent attacks documented against journalists in each of the provinces is reflective of a complete lack of commitment to ensuring the safety of the media. The provincial governments must introduce and pass media safety laws in their respective provinces to ensure that journalists in each province are protected under the law. 

• Political parties must enforce a code of conduct for engaging with media professionals during rallies, protests, and other physical party-related events and online to prevent violence against journalists. Leadership must reiterate such policies and ensure that supporters do not initiate violence against the media. Inflammatory remarks by political leaders must also be condemned at a party level.

• PPF has observed that during any period of protests or heightened political activity, journalists are caught in the crossfire and subject to attacks from protestors and police alike. Designated safe areas for journalists should be established during political protests and rallies to ensure their safety while reporting on these events. This is particularly achievable during pre scheduled protests and rallies.

• Journalists and media professionals in the field must be respected. In 2024, in numerous instances where journalists had identified themselves as a member of the press, including via visible press cards, they still were subject to violence and arrests. This is not acceptable.

• Following the Kenyan High Court’s ruling that declared the killing of Arshad Sharif as “unlawful,” there is a need for meaningful and conclusive court proceedings. Authorities must conduct a thorough and conclusive investigation into the killing of Sharif, including an investigation into the broader circumstances that led to his murder and reasons for his departure from Pakistan. When even the most high profile murder cases remain unresolved, there is little hope for other cases to be resolved. 

• State imposed restrictions or forms of censorship including the closure of X, formerly Twitter, as well as disruptions in internet access, set a worrying precedent for the measures that can be implemented to restrict the space for free expression. The lack of transparency, clarity and engagement with stakeholders are alarming.

• Shrinking spaces both online and offline are worrisome and the government must ensure that such measures are not being implemented to stifle debate, discussion and discourse. 

• The government must take seriously and act on the concerns regarding freedom of expression and media safety raised by United Nations Human Rights Committee members during Pakistan’s state review under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). 

• Law enforcement agencies, including the police, must understand and protect the media’s role as a watchdog in society. This can be achieved in several ways, such as:

              – Law enforcement officials such as police must be trained at a district level across Pakistan so that they are better informed, equipped, and able to investigate and follow up on attacks on the media. 

              – District-level law enforcement must take ownership of the targeted attacks on media professionals in their area and work to address the persisting culture of impunity.

            – Registration of criminal complaints (First Information Reports) against those who attack journalists, formation of investigative teams, and conclusive investigations should be facilitated.

On June 18, journalist Khalil Jibran was brutally murdered in the Khyber district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Jibran, who was killed after receiving 19 bullets, had previously received threats. Khyber News Chief Editor Mubarak Ali told PPF that Jibran had frequently reported on terrorist activities in his area and had been receiving continuous threats from banned groups. Despite this, no group has claimed responsibility for the murder, and no arrests have been made. 

Jibran Khalil, son of the late journalist, also confirmed that his father had received threats prior to his death. He shared that no arrests had been made in connection to his father’s murder, adding that the family is now facing additional threats. 

Khyber Union of Journalists President Nasir Hussain told PPF he believed Khalil was murdered due to his critical reporting. So far, no one has been apprehended in relation to the crime, he shared.

In another unfortunate incident, Awaaz TV reporter Muhammad Bachal Ghunio was murdered on August 27 in the Ghotki district of Sindh province.

After Ghunio’s murder, Station House Officer and Investigation Officer Abdul Shakoor Lakho from Wasti Jeevan Shah Police Station had told PPF that he believed Ghunio was killed due to his journalism as he was living in the katcha area and kept reporting about dacoits and their facilitators. 

Awaaz TV Director of News Naz Sahito also told PPF that certain influential individuals in the district had been displeased with Ghunio’s reporting for some time. Ghunio had been receiving multiple threats, and Sahito strongly believed that his murder was directly linked to his journalistic work. 

Sahito added that the organization provides legal assistance to Ghunio’s family and has notified the Sindh Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Media Practitioners (CPJMP) who had responded by taking action and writing letters to the relevant authorities. Days after Ghunio’s murder, the main suspect had been arrested by police, Dawn reported. According to Sahito, while police have arrested several suspects, the actual perpetrators remain at large.

Ghunio’s brother Sachal Ghunio shared that one suspect, Shaukat Ghunio, had been arrested by police and was currently in custody. The case is being heard in the District and Sessions Judge Anti-Terrorism Court in Ghotki at Mirpur Mathelo.

Just a few months prior, Awami Awaz reporter Nasrullah Gadani was critically wounded in an armed attack on May 21 in Mirpur Mathelo in the Ghotki district and succumbed to injuries just days later on May 24. 

The lack of progress in cases of other journalists killed in the line of duty in Pakistan paint a dismal picture. Pakistan has been on the Committee to Protect Journalists Global Impunity Index of countries with the highest rates of impunity, since it was launched. 

The murder of journalists and media professionals for their work is the ultimate silencing tool and the worst instance of attack possible. These murders are not isolated incidents; they are part of a broader, disturbing pattern of violence targeting journalists in Pakistan. Physical violence, threats of violence, and other forms of intimidation of the media are commonplace in Pakistan. 

As with murders, the repeat occurrence of these forms of violence, intimidation, and censorship over the years is reflective of the dismal situation for media safety and the level of impunity for those who are behind such attacks, which enables the same trends to continue year after year. The situation reflects an absence of effective preventative, protective, and prosecutorial mechanisms as outlined in the UN Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists. Each attack on a journalist, whether an act of manhandling, a threatening message on social media, or a regulatory directive banning coverage, contributes to an overall culture of fear and censorship. 

A common trend observed during the past year, similar to 2023, was waves of violence against media professionals during periods of heightened political activity, including protests. 

In Karachi, ten police officers were suspended for violence against women protestors and journalists during a day of protests on October 13. Journalists were assaulted, their equipment was damaged and they were detained by police. Zulfiqar Wahucho, the General Secretary of the Karachi Press Club Cultural Committee, News One reporter Shoukat Korai, and KTN News journalists Allah Rakhyo, Altaf Channa, and Pavan Kumar were among the affected media persons.

Separately, during protests held by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) party in late September and early October, several journalists were assaulted and detained by police as well as attacked by protestors. The recurring mistreatment of media professionals during politically charged events highlights an alarming trend where both law enforcement and political party members have disregarded press freedom and the role that media plays in covering key developments. 

Blatant violations of the media safety law were also documented with the seizure of electronic devices of journalists. In one case, Geo News reporter Haider Shirazi was tortured by police officers while filming police actions against a protester on September 28 in Islamabad. Despite identifying himself as a journalist, Shirazi’s phone was confiscated in contravention of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021,  and he was taken to an undisclosed location.

The law states that every journalist and media professional has the right to privacy which includes protection against interference with his/her home, correspondence and family. It requires the government to ensure that no person, officer, agency or institution unlawfully or arbitrarily interferes with the right to privacy of any journalist, reporter, or media professional and his/her home, correspondence (including electronic correspondence) and family.

General elections were held in February largely without incidents of violence against the media; however, sporadic incidents were documented in the lead-up to the elections during political party rallies, and journalists faced vile campaigns, rhetoric, and harassment online, particularly women journalists and media professionals. 

The ability of journalists to report on election day was severely hampered by the closure of mobile connectivity and data services countrywide. The suspension was attributed to security concerns but stayed in place for hours after the end of polling at 5 pm. A “lack of communication” was also blamed for the delay in announcing results. Additionally, social media platform X was blocked on February 17, and over eight months later, X remains inaccessible in Pakistan without a VPN. Multiple disruptions to internet access have been documented this year amid reports of the government installing a national firewall.

Meanwhile, the broadcast regulator, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA),  has consistently overstepped its mandate as a regulator and blocked entire areas of coverage, leaving the broadcast media unable to cover critical developments. Most recently, PEMRA issued show-cause notices to television channels for their coverage of the terrorist attack on October 6 near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport. The media must be able to report on critical developments in the country, including incidents of violence and terror, without facing punitive measures for doing so.

There has also been an attempt to curtail physical spaces for free expression. In one such instance, district administration issued a directive to the Quetta Press Club restricting them from allowing any political party or organization to hold a press conference or seminar without prior approval or permission of district administration. This prohibition undermines the press club’s independence and autonomy. The press club must be able to operate without interference, which it has a right to do so.

In an alarming development, at the start of 2024, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) issued notices to several dozen media professionals for allegedly participating in a campaign against the judiciary. In connection with this, journalist and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor was arrested by the FIA on February 26, when he appeared before the FIA Cyber Crime Wing in Islamabad in response to the latest of a series of notices issued to him. Despite the media safety law protecting the right to privacy, before he was eventually released on March 16, on bail, the relevant courts were informed that the journalists’ devices had been confiscated, with his lawyer adding that Toor’s mobile had been taken.

During Pakistan’s state review of the implementation of provisions of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in October, it was noted that the threats to journalists, killings, and disappearance of journalists were widespread, and this was “fuelling a climate of self-censorship.” Additionally, they said that there was “near total impunity.” As per a press release issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Human Rights Committee questioned what prosecutions were issued to address impunity and to guarantee remedial measures for victims and their families. They questioned how the State ensured that laws were not used unfairly to target journalists and what the appeals process was for journalists. They asked what steps had been taken to establish the commission to protect journalists’ rights. 

We urge the government to share the details and progress of the committees established to investigate violence against journalists and immediately establish the Commission required under the media safety law. The concerns raised by the UN Human Rights Committee should act as an impetus for meaningful action to reduce the violence against the media and the endemic impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of this violence.

The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists serves as a disheartening reminder of the lack of safety for journalists and the continued violence and fear that the media in Pakistan has to work within. The relevant authorities must take immediate steps to reverse course rather than allowing the culture of impunity for attacks on journalists to persist, enabling the violence against journalists to continue without repercussions.

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