Asia

Pakistan

{This graph represents scores that have been modified by CIMA so that higher scores indicate a better media situation. It is intended to show trends over time; each index measures significantly different factors of press freedom. To see an explanation for how this graph was created, click here.}
 

The Taliban offensive and the political upheavals shaking the country have led to ever harsher repercussions for journalists. More journalists have been killed so far in Pakistan in 2009 than in any other country. There has been an upsurge in attacks on the media and press clubs in the tribal areas, but also in Balochistan and sometimes in the big cities.

Though the 1973 Constitution guarantees press freedom, the law still contains a number of articles allowing journalists to be sentenced to prison terms for offences including “defamation”, “immorality” and insulting Islam or the sovereignty of the country. Even though no journalist is currently in prison for this reason, it is not unusual for reporters to be “questioned” for several hours by the secret services.

President Asif Ali Zardari, who heads a government loyal to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has put an end to the policy of harassment and systematic censorship of General Pervez Musharraf. But when faced with political tension, the authorities always have the same reflex of resorting to censorship. They deemed it necessary in March 2009 to block television news channels Geo News and Aaj while they were covering demonstrations by lawyers.

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Pakistan was the deadliest nation for the press in 2010 as violence spread well beyond the Afghan border region. Eight journalists and one media support worker were killed in relation to their work and numerous others were injured, many in suicide bomb attacks.

Pakistani journalists also saw a profound threat from their own government. On September 4, men in commando-style uniforms abducted Umar Cheema, a prominent political reporter for the English-language daily The News, in a suburb of Islamabad, holding him for two days as they beat and humiliated him. For journalists, the case was reminiscent of earlier abductions by suspected security agents. Cheema, who directly blamed the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency for the attack, said his abductors demanded that he stop writing articles critical of the government. President Asif Ali Zardari pledged the government would investigate, but journalists were deeply skeptical that anyone would be held accountable. In a widely cited editorial in support of Cheema, the English-language daily Dawn wrote, "This paper's stand is clear: The government and its intelligence agencies will be considered guilty until they can prove their innocence." In an e-mail to CPJ, Cheema said, "I don't think the government is serious in locating the culprits. Their publicly expressed resolve and the commitments they made were for public consumption, nothing more."

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