Eeven though the media in Pakistan stand liberated today, they are facing testing times. Members of the fraternity, journalists in particular, are facing heightened security risks and targeted for covering various topics of national interest. Since last week, two journalists have been killed in Pakistan’s restive areas of southwest Balochistan and North Waziristan. Pakistan is not alien to the trend of targeting and killing journalists. Based on the number of reporters killed during the last two years, different global rights organizations have already designated the country as one of the most dangerous to report from. Reporters in Pakistan have faced renewed threats from both state and non-state actors in the form of abduction, torture and killings.
In 2012, the international media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan as the third deadliest country for journalists. The country only trailed Syria and Somalia, which have also witnessed a surge in killings of journalists because of war and political violence, respectively. Dropping eight places to 158th out of 179 countries, the World Press Freedom Index ranked Pakistan as one of the most hostile grounds for journalists. Recorded figures show that around 100 Pakistani journalists have laid down their lives in the line of duty during the past 12 years.
A separate report by South Asia Media Commission also rates Pakistan as the most dangerous country in South Asia for journalists. Figures reported in the South Asia Media Monitor 2012 report highlight that out of the total 25 journalists killed in the region, 13 belonged to Pakistan. By not providing sufficient protection to media men in dangerous zones, the report held Pakistan responsible for failing to uphold UN Security Council Resolution 1738. The report declared insurgency-plagued areas of Balochistan and northern parts of Pakistan to be most dangerous for journalists.
In recent years, the media have experienced an explosive growth in Pakistan and come of age. During the past decade, media men have often found their security compromised because of a rise in sectarian, ethnic and politically-motivated attacks in the country. Unfortunately, the government has not taken any concrete steps to protect media workers and journalists face several constraints in performing their professional duties. The authorities have also failed to prosecute any individuals or groups involved in such activities, which has only encouraged the violence and posed journalists as soft targets.
A rapid increase in number of private media channels has also put the importance of journalist training on the backburner. A vast majority of journalists in Pakistan lack information and training in covering conflict zones or emergency incidents. Adnan Rehmat, the executive director of Intermedia, a Pakistani media watchdog, points out that, “the media houses don’t have security policies they do not prioritize the security of journalists. There are no, for instance, safety protocols or guidelines on security that are mandatory for journalists.” The introduction of security training programs by non-governmental local and foreign organizations for Pakistani journalists working in dangerous areas is only a recent development in this regard. Experts opine that journalists need to be wary of potential risks in the environment and understand that their safety should not be compromised at all times.
It is also feared that the wave of attacks are targeted against journalists, who dared to raise a voice of dissent against state oppression and brutality. Some sections of the media accuse security agencies of promoting structural violence against journalists through tactics of intimidation, torture and killings across Pakistan. Zohra Yusuf, head of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), speculates that the military’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) may have a hand in last year’s killing of Saleem Shahzad. The victim had written extensively about the Al-Qaeda network and other militant groups operating in Pakistan. She says that, “we don’t have any conclusive evidence. But the circumstances seem to point to state security agencies because there have been other cases where journalists have been picked up. It’s a very disturbing trend.” At the same time, some journalists in the tribal areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have also become a victim to rising tide of militancy. The Pakistani Taleban are known to have targeted journalists for not giving adequate coverage to the militant movement and leaning toward liberal sections of the society.
It is a pity that journalists’ unions and associations have not highlighted such attacks in the local media and diluted the news with other reports of other terror incidents. Given the unfavorable working conditions for journalists, the government of Pakistan should frame a media law to provide protection to the community. Under the law, journalists should be able to freely report threats and violence against them so that freedom of expression and information could be guaranteed in Pakistan. In the absence of such legislation, crimes against journalists are expected to continue with impunity and hamper the role played by a free media in the development of society.
