Hard times forjournalists in Pakistan

Islamabad: Journalists embraced extremely hard times in Pakistan — a country where peace largely returns after around a decade’s long war against terrorism. 

My colleague, Ahmad Noorani, who survived a murder attempt last week is one of 271 working journalists since 1997 while more than 127 Pakistani journalists have been killed in line of duty by the unknown attackers during this period. Unfortunately, only some two dozen cases have been proceeding in different courts for years in Pakistan which ranks at 139 out of 180 countries. More than 46 Pakistani journalists left the country and now seeking asylums in different parts of the world. Today is Mr Noorani. Who would be the next?

Journalists stopped reporting in Balochistan after militant groups attacked many of them; some of them left their homes, as it has become most dangerous place for working journalists after the tribal areas. 

As ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is observed today, Pakistani journalists have yet to know who killed Wali Khan Babar, Saleem Shehzad, Musa Khankhail and who attacked Hamid Mir, Umar Cheema, Raza Rumi, Matiullah Jan, Azaz Syed and this list goes on. Such attacks still remain a mystery. 

The data, this scribe collected so far from different sources, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders in particular, more than 1, 610 journalists have been killed around the world since 1992.

Syria topped the list with around 235 journalists killed; Iraq was second with around 211, following Pakistan with 127.   Working journalists have been targeted by the militant groups in Balochistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other extremist groups since 2002. Baloch militant groups and TTP have also publicly taken responsibility for the deaths of several journalists. 

 Many commissions and committees were formed by the government to probe attacks on journalists, even the country’s top court took up this issue, but unfortunately outcome remained “Zero”.