Pakistan: ''Another voice muted''

EDITORIAL: Daily Times

Mehmood Afridi, a journalist and President Kalat Press Club was killed on Friday. In four years nearly 30 journalists have been killed in Balochistan. This is the third murder of a journalist in a single week. The reason behind the murder has not been revealed as nobody has taken the responsibility yet. But one thing is now obvious that Pakistan is increasingly becoming unsafe for professional journalists. The message the criminals wanted to put across through this murder could be to limit the boundaries for the freedom of expression that they think is appropriate. And since the state has failed to maintain its writ by letting the criminals and the terrorists get off scot-free, they feel emboldened to kill anybody who does not meet their demands. That explains why the United Nations has designated Pakistan the second most dangerous country for journalists in the world. Only last year 12 journalists were killed while performing their duty. Not a single murder has been followed through. In fact in the Wali Babar case, which did reach court, all the ten witnesses were killed one after the other. Such an intimidating atmosphere could prove poisonous for journalism that could only thrive in a free and open atmosphere. It is the responsibility of the government to give protection and safety to the journalists, more so because they put their life in danger to expose the truth and facts. The issue with our system has been that either the guardians become part of the problem or they are removed if they dare to solve it. Unless the culprits are punished, this wave of muting responsible voices would further destroy the quality of our lives that has already gone many points down. This would also affect news quality by opening more room for compromises with the non-state actors. The media is the watchdog of society and one of the factors to effect change in society. Targeted killing aside, journalists are also getting killed increasingly in terrorist activities such as bomb blasts. Two Pakistani journalists were killed in the January 10 Quetta massacre on Alamdar Road. Many have been disappeared as well. This brings the responsibility of the media houses in question, which have failed to field train reporters in conflict zones so as to avoid injuries, disappearances or death. Awareness to this end is required as well to minimize the intensity of the threat. Understanding the gravity of the situation it is time now for the government to arrest the growing terrorism and lawlessness in the country, where the criminals kill anyone with impunity.