Pakistan: Journalists under fire

“New report finds almost no one is punished for the daily threats and deadly attacks faced by journalists in Pakistan.”

Pakistan has seen the deaths of at least 44 journalists as a result of their work in the past decade, and four journalists have been killed so far this year. Pakistan has long been ranked one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, and little is being done to change this. Reporters Without Borders “ranked Pakistan 158th out of 180 countries on its World Press Freedom Index this year - placing it below several countries considered to be active conflict zones, including Afghanistan (128th) and Iraq (153rd).”

Threats to journalists in Pakistan come from all sides–state intelligence agencies, police, military, sectarian groups, and religious extremist groups. The demands of these groups often contradict each other, placing journalists in a difficult situation. Journalists are coerced to shape their reporting based on the demands of these groups at the threat of violence, yet it becomes impossible for journalists to comply with all these demands at once. "Many are stuck in a situation where taking one perspective almost necessarily puts them at risk of incurring the wrath of another actor. So a lot of journalists are stuck in this almost impossible situation where catering to one perpetrator to avoid risk of abuse almost inevitably increases the risk of abuse from another perpetrator."

Threats and acts of violence against journalists go almost entirely unpunished in Pakistan, and there have been just two convictions in the murders of journalists in the past two decades. There is no mechanism or incentive to stop the human rights abuses and intimidation that is going on here, because people are literally getting away with murder. There is almost perfect impunity for crimes against journalists in Pakistan.

Any attempt by news outlets to expose or remedy the attacks on journalists are dealt with harshly, as was the case when a journalist for Geo, a television station, was attacked by gunmen and badly injured. The television station aired reports that accused the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) of the attacks on its journalist. The station received backlash from other news stations, which accused it of producing anti-state propaganda, as well as from the state, which moved to revoke Geo’s broadcasting license as a result of the accusations aired by the station.

As a result of the constant threat of violence against journalists, self-censorship runs rampant in broadcasting agencies “If the state doesn't like you, they eliminate you. If non-state actors don't like you, they just eliminate you."


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