Monday, May 3, 2021
Opinion: #WorldPressFreedomDay2021 - Journalists are never truly free in Pakistan
Fearing persecution and facing threats to their lives, journalists tread carefully in Pakistan. The brave and bold who pose awkward questions are most at risk, writes Warda Imran.
The world knows of press freedom in Pakistan through statistics and reports of censorship on content.
I know of press freedom in Pakistan through lived reality because I have watched fantastic journalistic pieces be deleted and authors being told to steer clear of topics that clash with companies' interests — for example investigations of how powerful fashion houses exploit their laborers.
Why take up journalism?
I was quite young when I understood how a story can be told from many different angles.
I was fascinated by how the information was procured; how it went from being an event on the ground to a headline. I wanted to be part of that cycle, to be one of the preservers of fact and to carefully disseminate it.
I credit my father's obsessive news consumption for this epiphany. I can count the number of days on one hand when our house sat silent without the jingle from news channels filling each room. One could hear the same jingle everywhere: in barbershops, small restaurants, and offices.
The TV screens in Pakistan were always lit, except for the few times they went blank, and not because of electricity cuts. In 2019, interviews with politicians were taken off air. An interview with former President Asif Ali Zardari on Geo News was cut-off midstream.
Pakistan's media often feels like one big TV with the remote control not in the hands of the public, but the powerful.
Persecution and threats
Pakistan also has a problem of self-censorship to avoid political backlash or funding cuts. There are certain issues that will not be reported on, some opinions that will never reach another's eyes or ears, certain truths that will grow old with the journalist.
"Stop covering unwelcome stories or your family won't find you alive," is a line often heard.
In a field where one can be punished for simple truths, jailed, or harassed for posing questions the public wants answers to, and imprisoned or fined for speaking out against institutions, there is little space to be creative.
I know this because my colleagues have faced this. There have been frantic "search missions" for colleagues who disappeared while working on a story and resurfaced days later, like the journalist Matiullah Jan.
The word "free" means different things to different people. For some in journalism, it means open and transparent access to information. But for others, it is the "freedom" to go home, not to be abducted, to remain alive.
After all, if seekers of truth are killed, who will seek their truth?
Pushing the boundaries
There is freedom to report on acceptable, prescribed topics without addressing taboos or challenging the status quo.
But this freedom is gendered. I think this had a role to play in why I chose this career. To see if I can push beyond the lines drawn in the profession.
I first realized this when I interviewed a politician for a story that tied him to a crime. He did not give me much, but I felt a sense of achievement holding this powerful man somewhat accountable with my probing.
I was quite satisfied when the article was published. Not everyone was. My parents questioned my choice of topic and interviewee. "Be careful," they said, "We don't want you to work on topics like this, it could be dangerous. These politicians are no joke."
I was furious. The quotes from the politician were put in verbatim, the story was fact checked, I did not have anything to worry about.
It dawned on me later: it does not take much for a journalist in Pakistan to garner the wrong kind of attention and eventually land in danger.
Censored and replaced
A second realization came soon after. A female colleague and I had penned a piece about the trial of an untouchable business tycoon in Pakistan.
Minutes after it was published, I was summoned by the editor-in-chief and warned that such stories should not carry a woman's byline. If the tycoon pressed charges for the story — which he often did — the author would have to be answerable. "Of course, sir," I said, "that's part of the job. I firmly believe that we have nothing to fear as long as we are delivering impartial information."
"No," he said, "I would not allow my daughter if she were in your place to pursue this story," he completed. "I am not your daughter, sir, I am working here as a professional," I stressed respectfully.
The next day's paper carried a truncated version of the article with a male colleague's name. Our names had been erased.
Journalists in Pakistan are free to pitch certain stories, get unfettered access to political parties and candidates, but never free enough to question the military. Never free enough to address topics like marital rape, never free enough to pitch the creative, imaginative, and innovative stories we have here.
Journalists in Pakistan are free enough until their chains pull them back. And I broke mine.
https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-journalists-are-never-truly-free-in-pakistan/a-57391021
#WorldPressFreedomDay - Action should be taken against lack of press freedom in Pak
Highlighting lack of press freedom in Pakistan, a Netherlands-based NGO has urged the international community to take actions as journalists, who dare to speak against the Pakistan military, are under severe threat.
In a letter on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, NGO Global Human Rights Defense demanded that actions should be taken against the continued lack of press freedom in Pakistan, specifically Balochistan, Sindh and Baltistan over the past few years.
Between May 2019 and April 2020, there have been more than 90 cases of attacks and violations against members of the press in Pakistan, the NGO wrote in the letter citing a report by Freedom Network.
"This implies that there is a severe lack of press freedom in the country. Reporters believe that these incidents have increased significantly with the growing military influence in the government," the letter read.
Pakistan has emerged as the riskiest place to practice journalism, according to the Freedom Network's annual state of the Press Freedom 2021 report.
According to The News International, at least 148 cases of attacks and violations against the media and its practitioners, including journalists, took place over the course of one year - between May 2020 and April 2021.This is an increase by over 40 per cent from the 91 cases of violations documented in the preceding year (May 2019-April 2020), said the report, launched on the eve of the World Press Freedom Day celebrated on May 3 every year.Pakistan has been ranked 145th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders's (RSF) 2020 World Press Freedom Index, three places lower than in 2019.
Global Human Rights Defense highlighted the prominent cases of subjugation of journalists in Pakistan.
On September 11, 2020, the NGO noted that Bilal Farooqi, an editor of 'The Express Tribune was charged for defaming the military and spring catered against it.
"This was after a factory worker highlighted the journalist's social media posts that were allegedly criticising the Pakistani Army. Although he was released soon after, a complaint was registered against Absar Alam, a senior journalist who is the former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. He was accused of publishing derogatory tweets against Prime Minister Imran Khan and state institutions," the NGO noted.
In 2021, a thirty-one-year-old Ajay Lalvani was shot dead by unidentified assailants. He was a reporter with a private Royal News TV Channel and an Urdu language newspaper Daily Puchano, said the NGO.
"As an international community, we must start focusing more on human rights in countries of the Global South. Action must be taken now; the clock is ticking for all those journalists who dare to call out and highlight the military influence in Pakistan," the statement read.
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/269195507/action-should-be-taken-against-lack-of-press-freedom-in-pak
Editorial: #PressFreedom #WorldPressFreedomDay - Imran Khan govt's claim of Pak press being free is a 'bald-faced lie' - Dawn.com
TODAY is World Press Freedom Day: for Pakistan’s beleaguered journalist community, it is a reminder of how the space for them is steadily shrinking. But this grim reality should also be of concern to those who understand the critical importance of a free press in a democracy. A media in chains cannot hold the powerful to account and serve public interest as it is meant to do. Indeed, the very quality of a democracy can be gauged by the state of its press. In its latest report, the International Federation of Journalists has ranked Pakistan the fifth most dangerous country in the world for mediapersons. During the period between 1990 and 2020, no less than 138 journalists lost their lives here for reasons connected to their work. Freedom Network Pakistan documented at least 148 attacks or violations against journalists across the country from May 3, 2020, till April 20, 2021. These include six murders, seven attempted assassinations, five kidnappings, 25 arrests or detentions, 15 assaults and 27 legal cases registered against journalists. And state authorities, responsible for protecting constitutional rights, emerged as the biggest threat to media practitioners — perceived as the perpetrators in a whopping 46pc of the documented cases. Certainly, journalists’ safety appears to be very low on the government’s list of priorities. The human rights ministry had drafted the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill over a year ago. To its credit, this was a comprehensive piece of proposed legislation that managed to take into account many of the problems confronting the media and provided workable solutions. For instance, it suggested dealing with the critical issue of impunity by setting up a seven-member committee to be headed by a former Supreme Court judge, which would have wide-ranging powers of investigation and redressal. Just as it appeared that the government had woken up to its duty towards the media, the cabinet decided to club the draft with another bill prepared by the information ministry and, for that purpose, send it to the law ministry — where it has been languishing ever since. Then SAPM on information Firdous Ashiq Awan had said that while more time was needed, “the process is in the final stage and we will try to speed it up”. The cabinet’s inexplicable decision conveniently placed an urgently needed piece of legislation on the back-burner, leaving media professionals to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, threats from known and ‘unknown’ state elements continue to be hurled at journalists; news editors are coerced into censoring ‘undesirable’ information or giving stories a certain slant; media outlets are threatened with financial ruin if they refuse to toe the line. In the midst of this, for government functionaries to insist that the press in Pakistan is free, as they are wont to do sometimes, is no less than a bald-faced lie. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6906155786122195046/4514775503563320472
#PressFreedom - Press freedoms chained in Pakistan: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
#Pakistan - Benazir Mazdoor Card is a revolutionary step by the Sindh government, Chairman #PPP
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has described the Benazir Mazdoor Card as a revolutionary step by the Sindh government and said that 3 million workers of Sindh would benefit from this scheme in the near future.
Addressing a press conference at Media Cell Bilawal House, the PPP Chairman said that the Benazir Mazdoor Card Scheme would be first for the 600,000 workers who are currently working in industrial enterprises, but our effort would be that this card should be given to every worker in the Sindh province.
He further said that whether the workers are associated with the construction sector or work in houses, following electronic registration they will be given Benazir Mazdoor Card, enabling them to avail the same facilities available to limited to industrial workers.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that this card will ensure the provision of health and medical facilities to the workers, this card will be usable even during maternity and in case of accidental death relief money will be provided besides other facilities. He urged the labourers and workers who are not yet registered in the industries to register themselves so that they can avail the benefits of the scheme.
PPP Chairman said that his party’s ideology and manifesto was that if the workers were prosperous then the industry and economy would also prosper. We want Benazir Mazdoor Card accessible to every toiling worker so that we can move towards social security thinking, which is an important part of the PPP’s manifesto.
He demanded that the Workers Welfare Board and EOBI be handed over to the provinces adding that these institutions should have been devolved to the provinces by 2015 under the 18th Amendment, but this has not happened yet. “These institutions should be handed over to the provinces so that the provinces can do more for their workers,” he emphasized.
In response to a question, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that his party has been working on election reforms and he did not want the rigging that took place in 2018 and earlier to happen again. “We need to make reforms in this regard, for which we are ready, but the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) can play a very important role in this regard,” he added.
PPP Chairman said that no one takes the PTI regime’s position seriously and sitting with the swindlers to stop the rigging seems strange. The most important and fundamental point to prevent election rigging was the role of the Establishment in the elections and if this role persists then no matter how much legislation is enacted, the elections will remain controversial. “Everyone saw that the Establishment had no active role in the NA-249 elections, so we want them to not only legislate but also create a consensus that the Establishment has no role in politics and elections,” he said.
Responding to another question, the PPP Chairman said that if the PML-N had evidence of any rigging, it should approach the ECP and not to appeal to the army. “If the PML-N appeals to the army to intervene after losing a seat, it would be detrimental to the electoral process,” he added.
He pointed out that during the 2018 elections, the troops deployed inside and outside every polling station and the largest army deployment in any elections in the history, but those elections proved to be controversial. “We believe that this makes not only elections, but also institutions unnecessarily controversial and consider PML-N statement irresponsible,” he added.
Replying to a question about Bahria Town, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the recent incident regarding Bahria Town took place on the day when by-elections were being held in NA-249. “Work has been stopped there and I am awaiting the report of the Chief Minister of Sindh in this regard,” he added.
He said that he had earlier demanded that the money kept with the judiciary regarding Bahria Town be handed over to the Sindh government so that issues like water and drainage in Malir and other areas of the province could be resolved.
Replying to yet another question, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the PPP had proved to the opposition parties that the no-confidence motion could work. It is the responsibility of the opposition parties to oppose the government instead of opposing PPP.
In response to another question, he said that if Imran Khan was talking about dissolving the assemblies, and the PML-N was talking about resignations, it meant that the two parties were on the same page. The vote will not be respected, if the parliament is not respected. Despite holding majority in Punjab, Bozdar is not being challenged because, PML-N thinks Bozdar can do as much damage to Punjab and its people, which is in the advantage of PML-N. “We have shown the way that the Federal government can also be taken after Punjab through the no-confidence motion through the results of the Senate election from Islamabad,” he added.
Also present on the occasion were Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, former Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, Senator Sherry Rehman, MNA Shazia Marri, Provincial Ministers Saeed Ghani and Nasir Hussain Shah, Peoples Labour Bureau Sindh President Habibuddin Junaidi and social activist Karamat Ali.
Meanwhile, a meeting of labour leaders was held at Bilawal House before the press conference chaired by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in which the labour leaders briefed on the situation of workers in the context of current inflation in the country.
Those labour leaders present, at the meeting, appreciated the issuance of Benazir Mazdoor Card by the Sindh government.
Senator Raza Rabbani, PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri and prominent economist Qaisar Bengali were also present. The meeting was attended by Peoples Labour Bureau Sindh President Habibuddin Junaid, Hussain Badshah, Lal Bakhsh Kalhoro, Javed Mangi, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Executive Director Karamat Ali, Zulfiqar Shah, Chairman Railway Workers Union Manzoor Razi, Liaquat Magsi of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board People’s Labour Union, Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills People’s Workers Union Shamshad Qureshi, Saleem Soomro, Muhammad Ashraf of PIA People’s Unity, Mauladad Leghari Aslam Samoon, Fayyaz Shah from Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) People’s Labour Bureau, Nasir Mansoor leader of National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan, Farhat Parveen leader of National Organization for Working Communities, Zahra Khan of Home Based Women Workers Federation.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24730/
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