The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has released Pakistan Media Freedom Report-2021, expressing grave concerns at the plight of working journalists.
Five journalists were murdered in 2021, said the report that was compiled under the supervision of CPNE’s Press Freedom and Monitoring Committee in the light of information acquired directly as well as material collected from various media outlets and websites. Noting that conditions related to media in Pakistan further deteriorated in 2021, the report expressed concerns over increasing tactics in a bid to muzzle the media.
Nine journalists died after contracting coronavirus and two newsmen committed suicide for being jobless last year remained very much difficult for journalists, media workers, and media organizations in Pakistan in different ways. Freedom of the press and freedom of expression remained under severe pressure and faced a lot of challenges, the report stated.
It especially highlighted the gruesome murder of Nazim Jokhio, who shared a video of alleged Arab hunters engaged in doing illegal acts on the northern outskirt of Karachi on November 3, 2021. The influential people demanded the removal of the video and after refusal, Jokhio was abducted, murdered and the body was dumped, the report stated, adding that a number of journalists faced life attempts, threats, bogus cases, threatening calls, and online harassment
The findings revealed the family members of the affected journalists were also subjected to physical and mental torture. While performing their assigned tasks, Ajay Lalwani, Abdul Wahid Raseeni, Shahid Zehri, Nazim Jokhio, and Mohammad Zada Agarwal lost their lives. The police and other state organs, including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), registered cases against several journalists during 2021.
In a bid to control media, the government continued to pursue its policy of enforcing the most controversial Pakistan Media Development Authority (PDMA) law.
The simmering financial crisis that Pakistani media houses have been facing is not the outcome of the coronavirus pandemic, rather it was very much there before the novel virus hit the global economies. However, the report acknowledged, the raging pandemic has further aggravated the already deepening financial crisis.
The journalist community, the report warned, is still at risk of economic collapse due to the ongoing financial constraints. The crisis that includes, lack of recoveries, unjust distribution of government advertisements, non-payment of dues by the federal and the provincial governments and the private advertisers have led to the closure of many newspapers and media outlets, forcing several journalists to commit suicide, and leaving a large number of media works unemployed.
Unfortunately, the report regretted, Pakistan is one of the countries, where violence against journalists is increasing. Journalists are killed brutally and the murderers walk free.
Not even a single murderer has been brought to justice as the country’s justice system has been proven completely ineffective in terms of providing justice and safety to journalists, which is alarming.
According to the report, at least seven journalists were injured in life attempts, four abducted, two harassed online, whereas the houses of at least another four journalists were either raided by the police, stormed by attackers, or robbers.
During the previous year, the report observed, journalists and media institutions faced censorship and restraint on several occasions. Some 11 journalists were implicated in false cases and jailed, it stated.
Senior journalist and a former Chairman of PEMRA, Absar Alam was shot and injured, journalist and blogger Asad Toor was dragged out of his house and tortured by unknown attackers, anchorperson Gharida Farooqi was targeted through online trolling, while anchorperson Asma Sherazi was targeted for her critical column at BBC.
Anchorperson Muhammad Malik’s show was forcefully stopped after 16 minutes of airing on Hum TV. Senior journalist and anchorperson Nadeem Malik was sent notices by the FIA for his critical reporting, a member of the CPNE’s standing committee, Editor-in-Chief of Jehan Numa Lahore, Waqas Tariq Farooq, and female members of his family suffered harassment and life threats during a robbery at his house.
The Islamabad High Court indicted Editor-in-Chief of Jang group, Mir Shakilur Rehman, senior journalists Ansar Abbasi, and Aamir Ghouri in contempt of court case for publishing the affidavit of former Chief Judge of Gilgit Baltistan.
It mentioned blocking 19,000 social media accounts, apps like TikTok, putting TV channels on notice, and suspending TV licence.
The CPNE hailed the passage of the Journalist Protection Bill by the federal government and the Sindh Protection of Journalists and Media Practitioners Bill. It urged other provinces to follow the suit.