Pen in peril

The disgraceful attack on The News investigative reporter Ahmad Noorani is an assault not just on an individual or a single media organisation. It is a blow to the entire concept of a free media and a warning to all journalists that they can be targeted at any time – just for doing their jobs. In broad daylight in Islamabad, Noorani was intercepted by six men on motorcycles who proceeded to severely beat him with knives, steel rods and iron fists. This was clearly a planned attack as the assailants knew he was on his way home. They seemed to be professionals since they deftly avoided all surveillance cameras. Noorani has been targeted in the past, including earlier this year, and had deactivated his Twitter account only a few days before this attack. Needless to say, the culprits managed to get away before they could be apprehended. Everyone, from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani and Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana, has condemned the attack but simple statements of sympathy will not be enough. It is the government’s duty to track down and prosecute those responsible, no matter how influential they may be. Not only does Noorani deserve justice, the media as a whole has to be assured that it will not suffer reprisals.

Wanting just the culprits caught sets a very low bar for the government but it is one all our governments have conspicuously failed to meet in the past. We still do not know who killed Saleem Shahzad and the attempted assassination of Hamid Mir remains unsolved. If anything there is a tendency to blame the victim, among the political class and certain sections of the media both of whom have been responsible for inciting violence in the past and when that violence comes to pass they attempt to rationalise it. The last few months have been particularly perilous for journalists. Bakshish Ilahi, the editor of an Urdu newspaper was shot dead in Haripur in June while journalists in Punjab and Balochistan have received threats in recent months. Those who want to target journalists seem to feel a new sense of impunity. This brazen attack on Noorani should lead to a change. Today, it is a reporter from The News who is in the firing line. Tomorrow,         it could be another media group that is under siege. Politicians too are not exempt from the lawlessness that threatens life and liberty. Now is a time for solidarity, for the entire country to present a united front and say: ‘Enough’.