Pakistan’s 2019 press freedom report paints a bleak picture

Freedom Network's latest 'Annual Press Freedom Report' for Pakistan has expressed concerns over the escalating climate of intimidation and harassment affecting the freedom of expression and access to information environment in the country, said a press release issued by the group on Thursday.

The network stated that at least 91 cases, including seven murders of journalists and a blogger, attacks and other violations, against media and its practitioners were recorded in Pakistan between May 2019 and April 2020.

The report titled “Murders, Harassment and Assault: The Tough Wages of Journalism in Pakistan,” was released by Freedom Network ahead of the World Press Freedom Day which will be observed on May 3.

“The screws on media in Pakistan are being tightened through various means of censorship, including murders, threats, and harassment, resulting in increasing silence and resulting in erosion of public-interest journalism,” said Executive Director of Freedom Network Iqbal Khattak.

Khattak pointed out that the collected data showed that no place in Pakistan was safe. He added that attacks against journalists are taking place everywhere.

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"At least 91 cases of attacks and violations against journalists and media practitioners were documented in Pakistan in the one year between May 3, 2019 and April 10, 2020 across all territories of Pakistan, including the four provinces and Islamabad," the report stated.

This is an average of over seven cases of violations a month – one every fourth day, or twice a week, it added. 

The violations included the killing of seven journalists, two cases of abductions, nine arrests, detentions or confinements, 10 cases of physical assaults, one case of an attack on a journalist's home, 23 cases of specific written or verbal threats, 10 cases of censorship, and eight instances of legal cases registered against journalists.

"The top three categories of violations against the journalists in Pakistan in the period under review included 23 cases of verbal or written threats of murder or other dire consequences (25%), at least 13 cases of offline and online harassment (14%), and 11 cases of assassination attempts (12%) of which seven resulted in the killing of journalists," said the press release.

The network noted that Islamabad emerged as the "most dangerous region in Pakistan for journalists" to practice their trade. The group stated that 34% of the violations (31 out of a total of 91 cases) recorded in the federal capital.

"Sindh was the second-worst with 27% of the violations (24 cases) followed closely by Punjab with 22% (20 cases), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 14% (13 cases) and Balochistan with 3% (3 cases)," said the media watchdog.

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The group noted that TV emerged as the single largest victim of the type of media with at least 63 cases (69%) compared to print, radio and web journalists.

Interestingly the group noted no radio journalist was targeted during the year under review.