Staff Reporter
Islamabad
At least 91 cases of violence were recorded against journalists in Pakistan over the past year, which include murder, assault, censorship, threats and legal suits, “signifying a worryingly escalating climate of intimidation and harassment” in the country, said Freedom Network in its annual report released on Thursday.
The Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2019-20, titled “Murders, Harassment and Assault: The Tough Wages of Journalism in Pakistan”, says that between May 2019 and April 2020, an average of over seven cases of violations occurred in a month — one every fourth day, or twice a week.
“The screws on media in Pakistan are being tightened through various means of censorship, including murders, threats, and harassment, resulting in increasing silence and resulting in erosion of public-interest journalism,” said Iqbal Khattak, the executive director of Freedom Network.
The top three categories of violations against journalists in Pakistan in the period under review included 23 cases of verbal or written threats of murder or other dire consequences (25 per cent), at least 13 cases of offline and online harassment (14pc), and 11 cases of assassination attempts (12pc), of which seven resulted in the killing of journalists.
According to the media watchdog, the violations included killing of seven journalists for their work; two cases of abductions; nine cases of arrests; detentions or confinements; 10 cases of physical assaults, half of which caused severe bodily injuries; one case of attack on the home of a journalist; 23 cases of specific written or verbal threats; 10 cases of censorship, and eight instances of legal cases registered against journalists.
