Sarfraz ali
As many as
34 Pakistani journalists have been killed and dozes more have received death
threats, abduction, torturing and assassination attempts from all sides
including intelligence services, political parties and armed groups like the
Taliban since the democracy was restored in 2008, Amnesty International said in
a new report today.
In only one
case those responsible have been brought to justice. A bullet has been chosen
for you’: Attacks on journalists in Pakistan, describes how the Pakistani
authorities have almost completely failed to stem human rights abuses against
media workers or to bring those responsible to account.
Amnesty
International has documented 34 cases of journalists being killed in Pakistan
in response to their work since the restoration of democratic rule in 2008, but
only in one case have the perpetrators been brought to justice.
But these
killings are just the most brutal statistic – many more journalists have been
threatened, harassed, abducted, tortured or escaped assassination attempts in
the same period.
“Pakistan’s
media community is effectively under siege. Journalists, in particular those
covering national security issues or human rights, are targeted from all sides
in a disturbing pattern of abuses carried out to silence their reporting,” said
David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.
“The
constant threat puts journalists in an impossible position, where virtually any
sensitive story leaves them at risk of violence from one side or another.”
The report
is based on extensive field research into over 70 cases and interviews with
over 100 media workers in Pakistan. It examines several recent cases where
journalists have been targeted for their reporting by a range of actors.
Numerous
journalists interviewed by Amnesty International complained of harassment or
attacks by individuals they claimed were connected to the feared military spy
agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). While some are
featured in the report with names changed, others could not be included even
under a false name because they feared for their lives.
The spy
agency has been implicated in several abductions, torture and killings of
journalists, but no serving ISI officials has ever been held to account –
allowing it to effectively operate beyond the reach of the law. Human rights
violations against journalists by the ISI often follow a familiar pattern that
starts with threatening phone calls and escalates into abductions, torture and
other ill-treatment, and in some cases killings.
Journalists
are also victims of human rights abuses by non-state groups across the country.
Aggressive competition for media space means that powerful political actors
across the country put severe pressure on journalists for favourable coverage.
In Karachi, supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, Ahle Sunnat
Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) religious group and others stand accused of harassing or
killing journalists they consider critical.
In
conflict-ridden regions in the northwest and Balochistan province, the Taliban,
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ethnic Baloch armed groups openly threaten reporters with
death and attack them in retaliation for seeking to highlight their abuses or
not promoting their ideology. Journalists in Pakistan’s heartland of the Punjab
have also faced threats from the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi-linked groups.
Despite the
wave of violence and attacks, the Pakistani authorities have largely failed to
hold perpetrators to account. In the overwhelming number of cases researched by
Amnesty International, authorities rarely adequately investigated threats or
attacks or brought those responsible to justice.
Only in a
handful of high-profile cases have more thorough investigations been carried
out, and only after public outrage has made it impossible for authorities not
to act.
“The
government has promised to improve the dire situation for journalists, including
by establishing a public prosecutor tasked with investigating attacks against
journalists. But few concrete steps have been taken,” said David Griffiths.
“A critical
step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence
agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against
journalists are brought to justice. This will send a powerful signal to those
who target journalists that they no longer have free reign.”
Media
enterprises operating in Pakistan must also ensure they provide adequate
training, support and assistance to journalists, in an important, practical
step towards addressing the risk of abuses while they are at work.
“Without
these urgent steps, Pakistan’s media could be intimidated into silence. The
climate of fear has already had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and
the broader struggle to expose human rights abuses across Pakistan,” said David
Griffiths.
