Probe into journalist’s murder demanded |
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| Asim Rana |
| ISLAMABAD: The journalists belonging to Rawalpindi and Islamabad Press Club are wondering what would happen to the investigations into the case of murder of Pakistan Press International (PPI) bureau chief Malik Muhammad Ismail which are leading to no ample, definite and conclusive evidence who actually was behind this heinous and gruesome killing. Source: Daily Post Date: 11.05.2007 |
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Probe into journalist’s murder demanded
21st Century Threats to Press Freedom
21st Century Threats to Press Freedom
Karen Hughes , Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Remarks to Freedom House and Broadcasting Board of Governors
Washington, DC
May 1, 2007
View Video
Thank you, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen -- I'm honored to be here today with Freedom House and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to speak on the important issue of press freedom. Some of you may know I started my career as a journalist. I worked for seven years as a reporter for a television station in Dallas-Fort Worth.
As a reporter, I covered everything from tornadoes to the Texas Legislature - and it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between them. As I covered political process, I found myself drawn, because I saw the impact that it had on people's lives - from the taxes paid to hours the parks were open. I covered political campaigns and the 1980 presidential race - and while some journalists become cynical about politics, I had the opposite experience - I found myself inspired by the good people I met from both political parties who were willing to put their names on the line, endure the criticism and bad headlines that inevitably come and get involved to try to make their communities and their country a better place. I decided I wanted to be part of that, so in 1984, I left reporting to become the Texas press coordinator for the Reagan-Bush campaign - since then I've worked for local, state and national campaigns and in the Texas Governor's office, at the White House and now at the State Department - So over the course of the 30 years of my career, I've had the opportunity to view the press and the government from, as the song says, both sides now.
And while those of us in government sometimes love to grumble about the latest headline or the way a story is written, we also recognize the vital importance of a free press to a free society. As Secretary Rice said recently, quote: "There is no more important pillar of democracy than a free and active press."
Freedom of the press is often called the First Freedom, and for good reason. -- in effect, it protects freedom of thought and expression. A free press is indispensable to a vigorous debate and an informed electorate. Journalists hold government officials to account -I think one of the best ethics tests ever devised is: would you be comfortable reading about this decision or action on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper - above the fold. Journalists expose corruption and crime, and shine a spotlight on human rights abuses. Perhaps for those very reasons, we are living in a time of great danger for journalists around the world - they are at greater risk than ever of being threatened, jailed or killed- the threats come from a variety of places -- organized crime, by terrorists, narco-traffickers, even sometimes by governments themselves.
This disturbing trend should set off alarm bells --- and a much louder international outcry. According to Reporters without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers, a record number -- more than 110 -- journalists and media workers were killed last year, marking 2006 as "the bloodiest year on record for journalism worldwide." In the last decade, more than 500 journalists have been killed.
One of the most prominently reported cases last year was the murder of Anna Politkovskaya the courageous Russian journalist who was shot execution-style last October. She was found dead in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building, shot four times. According to news reports, a pistol was left at her feet, the calling card of a contract killing.
Politkovskaya had been a fierce critic of the war in Chechnya and of the Russian Government. Her life had been threatened many times, yet she pressed on - slogging through snow and frozen creeks to get around border guards and slipping into one area by riding on a hay wagon with farm laborers. On the day of her murder, she had planned to file a lengthy story on torture practices believed to be being used by Chechen authorities. Her final media interview before her death was with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which has special poignancy for me. As part of my job, I represent Secretary Rice on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees those radios. Politkovskaya was a regular participant on the Russian service broadcasts of RFE/RL - one of the few electronic media outlets in Russia that would put her daring reports on the air. On the morning of her death, she told a friend she had awakened with the feeling that it would be the day she would die. Unfortunately, her reporter's instincts were right.
I mention her story first because it has become symbolic of the new brutality against journalists. Anna was recently selected by UNESCO as this year's recipient of the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. We at the Department of State have renewed our call to the Russian government to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation of her murder. Those responsible must be identified and brought to justice.
Journalists like Anna Politkovskaya are on the front lines of human freedom. Yet while her story is perhaps the best known, she is unfortunately not alone.
In every region of the world, journalists are under siege. In Latin America -- five journalists in Venezuela have been killed in five years as the press has been restricted … others have been killed in Colombia, Guatemala, and Guyana. In Mexico, a half-dozen journalists have been killed in direct reprisal for their reporting. Last November, the editor of a newspaper there was found dead in a hotel room, with his hands tied behind his back, a day after his paper ran articles about organized crime and corruption in city government.
In Southeast Asia -- nine journalists have been killed in Pakistan alone since 2002, including Daniel Pearl, and more recently Mohammad Ismail, the bureau chief for Pakistan Press International in Islamabad. He was found with his head bashed in by an iron bar.
In the Middle East -- two leading journalists in Lebanon- Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni - were murdered in 2005. Both were strong critics of Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs and champions of Lebanon's sovereignty and freedom.May Chidiac, aLebanese television reporter who had criticized Syria's involvement in Lebanon, was wounded by a bomb planted under the driver's seat of her car. She lost her left hand and her left leg. Chidiac was in the hospital nine months and endured 26 surgeries -- but with typical spirit, she said, "I gave my country a hand to fight with and a leg to kick all the enemies with, and they are not few." She went back on the air last summer, even though she was still receiving threats.
We are gravely concerned about the threats against journalists who work for information services like RFE/RL and the Voice of America - the lone source of credible news and information for people in some parts of the world VOA correspondents have been killed in Iraq, targeted in Zimbabwe, assaulted in Serbia, arrested [detained] in Angola, forced into hiding in Rwanda, forced out of Burundi, detained in Nigeria.
Just a few weeks ago, Khamail Muhsin, a talented broadcaster with Radio Free Iraq, was kidnapped and shot in Baghdad. She was a mother of three children and a brave voice for freedom of speech.
An RFE/RL Turkmen Service stringer was jailed by the government last year and died under suspicious circumstances. An RFE/RL Uzbek service correspondent was sentenced to six months in jail for allegedly insulting a security service employee while covering the 2005 violence against civilians in Andijon. News bureaus were shut down in Tashkent and Russian service correspondents have been detained.
As we meet here today, the Iranian government is refusing to allow RFE/RL journalist Parnaz Azima to leave Iran, where she went to visit her ailing and hospitalized mother. Iranian officials seized her passport when she arrived and have thus far refused to return it, telling her lawyer it would not be returned for "two or three years." We strongly object to Iranian officials keeping Parnaz Azima in Iran against her will and call on the government to allow her to leave the country so she can return to her work and most importantly, to her children and grandchildren.
A worldwide census last year showed that 134 journalists were imprisoned, a record high. In Burma, two men were sentenced to 19 years in prison simply for publishing a collection of pro-democracy poems. On March 12, Burmese journalist U Win Tin, imprisoned for almost 18 years by the military junta and in frail health, marked his 77th birthday behind bars.
The largest number of journalists - more than 30 -- imprisoned anywhere in the world are in China. Some 50 internet writers are also behind bars there. Despite progress on some fronts, China cannot yet be proud of its record on press freedom. It has taken a welcome step by announcing a temporary relaxation of regulations on foreign journalists to allow them to work more freely in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and when I visited China I spoke with government officials about our hope that this will become permanent to bring China closer to international standards.
The steady stream of reports that cross my desk confirm that journalists today face greater danger than ever before -- just last week, a dissident Cuban journalist was sentenced to four years in prison. In Turkmenistan, at least seven RFE/RL correspondents have had their land-line and mobile telephones blocked in recent weeks. Reporters say security officials are following them daily. And last week, an RFE/RL Belarus Service listener was arrested by the KGB for distributing materials promoting the radio programs. Belarus has become one of the world's most censored countries.
The United States is concerned that many governments are not only moving to silence individual voices, but also are suppressing independent media altogether - in Burma and North Korea, where there are no independent journalists; Syria allows almost no freedom for local press; and government severely restricts or controls the press in Tunisia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Cuba, and Equatorial Guinea. Controversial amendments to the media law in Kazakhstan tightened government control over the media, and the Emergency Law has partially restricted freedom of speech and press in Egypt
These worldwide threats to free press should be of great concern to the family of nations. They threaten, not just individual journalists, but civil society itself.
Silencing journalists - whether they write from Internet cafés, in literary journals, or newspapers - has a chilling effect. Information is suppressed and in this global world, information is vital. Stifling reports about cases of bird flu increases the risk for not only people in one country, but also people in every country. Killing reporters who investigate the drug trade has consequences beyond borders, encouraging the spread of organized crime. Assassinating reporters who unmask government misdeeds allows corruption to grow and impact an expanding circle of businesses and individuals.
What should we all do? One of the most important things we can do is to shine a spotlight on the problem - build awareness of the threats to journalists and the critical need for a free and vibrant press.
Media groups including the World Association of Newspapers, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders have been speaking out and protesting to governments with admirable resolve.
The linkage between a free press and democracy and development has been gaining more attention in international bodies such as UNESCO, the WTO, and the World Bank An even stronger focus is warranted.
The United States government is fully committed to strengthening the important role of free media. Access to information and transparency are so important to developing countries that we track media freedom as a key part of our annual Human Rights Report - reporting and denouncing violations. We are working to build a stronger foundation for international press freedom by providing assistance for production of radio and television programs that are independent of state-controlled media, and funding programs for Internet access and training.
With freedom comes responsibility, of course, and journalists have a responsibility to be fair and accurate. The US government supports many non-government organizations that provide training in standards of fairness and objectivity for journalists, editors and media managers from countries worldwide. In partnership with the Aspen Institute and a number of journalism schools, we have launched a new program the Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program, to provide advanced training for foreign journalists -nearly 200 of them just completed a three week visit to America, meeting with policymakers, receiving training in professional standards of objective reporting and learning more about our country.
And I am pleased to report that in the future we will provide spaces in our Edward R. Murrow journalism program for the survivors of slain journalists who choose to study journalism or become journalists themselves. Their work will keep the spirit of freedom of expression alive.
I'm glad that Under Secretary Paula Dobriansky could be here earlier today to talk about threats to internet freedom. Last February, Secretary Rice launched the Global Internet Freedom Task Force (GIFT), recognizing that internet freedom is a key component of press freedom. The U.S. is overall committed to supporting innovative approaches to combating internet censorship, such as developing a secure website for journalists and human rights defenders in closed countries.
One of our most important roles at the State Department is to defend the defenders of freedom. When governments move to limit press freedoms, we are speaking out forcefully. President Bush has personally asked the Chinese government to release New York Times researcher Zhao Yan. Secretary Rice met with the colleagues and son of Anna Politkovskaya to express her condolences during her visit to Moscow and did the first interview with Lebanese journalist May Chidiac when she came back to work. When the Government of Azerbaijan closed that country's leading TV and radio station, ANS, last fall, our government officials including me protested at many levels. Today, ANS is back on the air
This week, on May 3, the world will observe World Press Freedom Day, to honor the brave journalists from Belarus to Cuba to Iran who are struggling valiantly for the right to express themselves and to inform the citizens of their nations
The message must go out that the world cares about press freedom, not just on Press Freedom Day, but every day, to signal that people are watching and pressing governments for full accountability for attacks against journalists and against a free press.
Just before he was murdered in January, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink apparently sensed he was in danger and wrote his last column about the death threats he was receiving. When he was shot dead the next week outside his newspaper office, thousands of people poured into the streets and the Turkish Prime Minister condemned the shooting as an attack on peace and the stability of the country. As he put it, "A bullet was fired at freedom of thought and democratic life."
So to all the courageous journalists -- writers, editors, producers, cameramen, - who are daily risking their lives in many countries, we want you to know that America stands with you in supporting free of thought and democratic life. We want to be your partners and supporters in keeping freedom of the press and thus freedom of thought and expression flourishing.
Thank you.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
IPI World Press Freedom Monthly Review: November to Mid-December
November to Mid-December
a bureau chief at the Pakistan Press Institute (PPI), in PAKISTAN’S
capital, Islamabad. Ismail was last seen leaving his house for a walk.
He was later found dead after having been beaten about the head with
a blunt instrument.
Freedom House called on the Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC), which distributes U.S. congressional aid, to ensure that countries
receiving development funding should be held to high ethical standards.
The organisation called on the MCC to refuse to fund countries that failed
to meet “reasonable” standards on political and civil rights and invited the
organisation to follow-up on countries that were failing to meet promised
benchmarks. In June this year, the International Press Institute praised
the MCC for its suspension of THE GAMBIA from the programme due to
its poor record on press freedom and human rights in general.
Article 212 of the Criminal Code, which makes it an offence, punishable
by a maximum of one year in prison, to defame or publicly humiliate someone.
Critics of the decision said that the Polish constitutional court was putting
personal dignity ahead of the right to free expression.
later, police officers entered the television station and threatened to close it
down if it continued to broadcast programmes about the trial of former Iraqi
leader, Saddam Hussein. There were also calls for the release of Associated
Press photographer, Bilal Hussein, who has been detained for over six months
in Iraq accused of being a security threat. So far, the U.S. forces have failed to
offer any evidence justifying the journalist’s detention.
law already believed to seriously infringe freedom of expression, highlighted
further risks to press freedom. According to the report produced by the
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), the government intends to introduce
fresh amendments to the law that cover the Internet and electronic media. Furthermore, it is proposed that section 298 is expanded to cover the “wounding
of racial feelings.”
acquittal of two suspects in the assassination of Forbes Russia editor, Paul
Klebnikov, in 2004. The decision of the court follows a jury verdict that found
Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev innocent of Klebnikov’s murder. The
trial was held in camera and the jurors were forbidden to speak about the case
by an order of the court
Despertar de la Costa, was found murdered in his hotel room in Ixtapa
Zihuatanejo in Guerrero state. Hernández was found naked with his hands tied
behind his back by a belt. There were also punctures wounds in his right arm indicating he might have been poisoned.
the privately owned Al-Sharqiya TV, on 13 November. He was murdered when leaving his home in the town of Mosul in IRAQ. The gunmen fired from a fixed
position on the back of a pickup truck.
Eiraeiro detention centre in the northeastern desert of ERITREA. All of the
journalists had been arrested in a brutal roundup of the private media in
September 2001. The reports led to calls from international press freedom organisations for the Eritrean government to confirm the reports.
who worked for newspaper Al Masar, was killed, together with her driver, while travelling to work in Mosul on 15 November. Journalist Qussai Abass of the
newspaper Tariq Al Shaab was killed with his driver in a similar attack on the
way to the office on 2 November. Another journalist, Luma Mohammad Reyad,
who worked for the US-funded Al Dustoor newspaper, was killed on 17 November.
authorities in the UNITED STATES with video footage of a July 2005
demonstration, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a November decision
refused to rehear the case. Wolf has been in prison since 18 September.
to death in his home in Mexico City. Sánchez was a former director of the daily Excélsior and columnist for the national daily El Sol de México. According to
witnesses at the murder scene, there was no evidence of a robbery. Prior to
his death, he had published a story alleging corruption among local officials.
On 21 November, Roberto Marcos García, a reporter for the Veracruz-based bi-monthly publication Testimonio and a local correspondent for the Mexico
City weekly Alarma, was gunned down by armed attackers near the town of
La Matoza while travelling from Veracruz to Alvarado. García, who reported
on violent crime and drug trafficking in Veracruz, had recently received threats.
African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), at its session in
Banjul, The Gambia, deferred to its next session a Communication filed by the Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (IJAZ), Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe). The Communication challenges the legality of
ZIMBABWE’S Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA). The ACHPR’s decision followed a request from the Zimbabwean
government.
made by the African Union (AU) in criticising Zimbabwe's record on human
rights. The press release said, “[I]t is essential that the AU places the importance
of human rights and freedom of the press above what appears to be a deep-
seated reluctance to criticise African leaders.”
of the TV station Nainawa, was killed in Mosul. The journalist was shot dead by gunmen outside her front door. Raad Jaafar Hamadi, a journalist with Al Sabah,
was killed on 22 November in Baghdad when gunmen fired on his car.
Adolfo Sánchez Guzmán was found in Mendoza, Veracruz. Guzmán, who worked for Mexican news website, Orizaba en Vivo, had been shot twice in the head. His body also bore evidence of stab wounds. On 4 December, police announced that they were holding two suspects in the murder.
tried by the Danish courts for publishing classified intelligence reports under DENMARK’S criminal code. Commenting on the acquittal, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said, "…The legal decision is an important victory in Denmark for the media's right to investigate the claims of government."
for the daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende, were charged with "publishing information illegally obtained by a third party.” On 13 November 2006, Niels
Lunde, editor-in-chief of Berlingske Tidende, as well as the two reporters, went
on trial in Copenhagen.
2004 that contained information passed anonymously to Bjerre and Larsen by military intelligence officer Frank Grevil showing that there was no credible
evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Nabil Ibrahim Al-Dulaimi, a journalist with the Baghdad-based news radio station Radio Dijla, was murdered by gunmen in Baghdad.
of the coup by Commodore Frank Bainimarama led to a number of press freedom violations particularly surrounding the private Fiji Daily Post. On 5 December, IPI protested that the Fiji Daily Post was forced to halt operations and evacuate their premises for a period of 24 hours following these threats. In another press release
on 14 December, IPI crticised the ongoing intimidation and censorship and the alarming decision to deport the Post’s editor-in-chief, Robert Wolfgramm
The Recorder and The Nueva Ecija Times, was killed when he was shot five times
at close range. Grande’s wife was close by when he was murdered. The perpetrators appeared to be teenagers.
IFJ–PFUJ Mission for Press Freedom and Journalist Safety in Pakistan
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23/02/2007
A coalition of international and local press freedom and media groups, led by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate in Pakistan, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), is conducting an urgent mission to Pakistan, in response to the deteriorating press freedom situation and worsening safety environment.
The IFJ-PFUJ Mission for Press Freedom and Journalist Safety will be in Pakistan from February 21 to February 25, 2007.
Members of the mission spent February 22 in Lahore meeting with local journalists, office-bearers of the Lahore Press Club, Punjab Union of Journalists, and meeting with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), including HRCP director I.A.Rehman and HRCP chairperson Asma Jehangir, who is also United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the Commission on Human Rights.
The mission traveled to Peshawar and will travel to Islamabad tomorrow to meet with journalists and their family members, and will seek to meet with government representatives, police and the military.
The mission members met with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) police chief this morning in Peshawar, and will be meeting with the NWFP information minister later today, February 23.
The will also meet in Peshawar on February 23 with NWFP senior editors and journalists who have been under attack in NWFP.
The mission is also seeking a meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister to discuss the mission’s findings and push for action to be taken by the government.
Members of the mission include Christopher Warren, president of the IFJ, who is joining the mission in Islamabad; Bharat Bushan, editor of The Telegraph in Delhi; Chris Morley, president of the National Union of Journalists, UK and Ireland; Iqbal Khattak, bureau chief of The Daily Times and Pakistan’s representative to Reporters Sans Frontiers; Sunanda Deshapriya of the Free Media Movement in Sri Lanka; and Pervez Shoukat, president of PFUJ.
The mission has been arranged in response to continued media oppression and increasing numbers of attacks on journalists and their families. In the past eight months, four journalists, as well as two child brothers of media workers, have been murdered.
“We need to persuade the government of Pakistan to act to stop these attacks on journalists and press freedom; we will appeal directly to government officials to do more to protect journalists and ensure a free and safe media environment,” IFJ president Christopher Warren said.
A roundtable conference of the mission members, local journalists (including those that have suffered from attacks and press freedom abuses), editors, rights activists, lawyers and politicians will take place in Islamabad on February 24, and the mission will conclude with a press conference in Islamabad on February 25.
Additional information on the issues the mission will address in Pakistan can be found in the capsule report attached.
Capsule Report – Pakistan
Journalists murdered
On November 1, 2006, Mohammad Ismail, a senior journalist and bureau chief of Pakistan Press International (PPI), was brutally murdered when attacked by unknown assailants in Islamabad.
Maqbool Hussain Sail, a correspondent with the news agency On-Line, died after being shot by unidentified attackers on September 15, 2006. Sail was reportedly on his way to the house of the local leader of the opposition party, the Pakistan People Party, when he was shot.
Hayatullah Khan was found murdered on June 16, 2006, six months after his abduction. He was allegedly abducted near the tribal area of North Waziristan, after reporting on an explosion that killed senior Al Qaeda member, Maza Rabia.
Munir Ahmed Sangi, a cameraman for the Sindhi-language Kawaish Television Network (KTN) was shot on May 29, 2006. Sangi had been covering a story on a gunfight between members of the Unar and Abro tribes in the town of Larkana, in Pakistan’s Sindh district when he was shot.
Targeting of family members
The IFJ reported the murder of the child brother of slain journalist Hayatullah Khan on September 26, 2006. Bashir Khan’s murder was allegedly a message to his family, who had been active in trying to expose Hayatullah Khan’s killers.
On August 31, 2006, the IFJ reported the murder of BBC correspondent Dilawar Wazir’s teenage brother in South Waziristan, a tribal-ruled region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. According to the PFUJ, the murder of 16-year-old Taimur Khan may have been a message to Dilawar who had been under threat for his reporting for the past two years.
Kidnappings and torture
Suhail Qalandar, a news editor with the Daily Express in Peshawar, disappeared on January 2, 2007. Local reports suggest he may have been targeted for political reasons. Demonstrations and rallies were held across Pakistan on February 19, 2007, in protest of his kidnapping, as well as of the government’s lax response. Qalandar was released two-days later on February 21, after the protest rallies were held on the PFUJ call.
Dilawar Khan Wazir, a BBC Urdu-language reporter and a journalist for the daily publication Dawn, was reported missing on November 20, 2006 and was released one day later. Wazir, who could not identify his abductors, was blindfolded, harassed, physically attacked and questioned about his sources during the ordeal. Wazir’s abduction comes after a string of recent attacks and threats targeting Wazir, his family and his colleagues.
Kawish journalist Mehruddin Marri, who was abducted in Thatta on June 27, 2006, was released on October 24 after four months of torture. He was interrogated, beaten and suffered electric shocks and other forms of torture, in an attempt to make him confess ties with the Baluch nationalist movement.
Saeed Sarbazi, joint secretary of the Karachi Press Club, senior sub-editor of daily Business Recorder and a member of the All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation’s National Executive Committee, was abducted and tortured on September 20, 2006. He was released on September 22.
On June 26, 2006 two missing journalists were officially arrested in Pakistan and released on bail after their abduction earlier in the year. Mukesh Rupeta, a Geo News correspondent, and Sanjay Kumar, a freelance cameraman, reportedly disappeared on March 6. According to a spokesperson from Geo News, Pakistani authorities reported that the two were detained for videoing the Jacobabad air-base in Sindh. There were concerns for the poor health of both journalists, raising serious questions about their treatment.
Attacks, threats and abuse
Reports on December 15, 2006 suggested that a new press regulatory body that may be established in Pakistan is a replication of an infamous “black law” dating back to the 1960s. According to the PFUJ, a report appeared in a leading Urdu language daily newspaper stating the government was about to instate a new body called the Press and Publication Regulatory Authority (PAPRA). The PAPRA was likely to be a mirror of the Press and Publication Ordinance from the 1960s, tagged a “black law”.
On November 10, 2006 several journalists were detained and intimidated, in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to block access to information and silence journalists. Five journalists - Masood Khan, Anwar Hakim, Haseen Ahmed, Zafarullah and Moammad Ibrahim, were harassed and detained by officials when travelling to the tribal region of Bajour to investigate the killing of 83 people on October 30.
On September 17, 2006 it was reported that police attacked journalists at a public meeting of a religious organisation in Lahore. According to the PFUJ, Wadood Mushtaq, from ARYONE World, received serious wounds on his face and jaw, ATV's Malik Zahid endured internal injuries and Mohannad Nazi received a fractured arm.
The senior journalist and union leader Cr. Shamsi was brutally attacked by the security guards of the Federal Minister for Labour in Islamabad on September 13, 2006, after Shamsi demanded the implementation of the Seventh Wage Award.
The Peshawar Press Club was attacked by activists of the Pakistan Muslim League on June 29, 2006, injuring newsmen and staff members of the club. Additionally, three journalists, including Khalil Afredi of the Daily Khabrian, Sudhi Afredi of the Daily Frontier Post and Abu Zar Afredi of the Daily Express were detained without charge for 24 hours for interviewing wanted head cleric of Lashkar-e-Islami, Mangal Afredi. Reports also revealed the group Lashkar-e-Islami threatened Qazi Nasrullah of the Daily Mashriq and Qazi Rauf of the Daily Express for reporting in favour of government policies.
On June 14, 2006 about 50 individuals reportedly attacked six media workers at the Thari Mirwah Press Club, punching, kicking and beating the press with sticks. The attack was allegedly in response to a story on contractors’ use of unsatisfactory material in the construction of irrigation watercourses.
Eight media workers were injured in a bomb attack while covering a religious gathering to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammad in Karachi on April 11, 2006. The attack killed 57 people and seriously injured close to 100 others.
On December 23, 2005, a group of armed men threw a petrol bomb into the offices of the Sukkur edition of the Sindhi-language daily newspaper Khabroon. The assailants are believed to be Sindhi nationalists. Prior to the attack, the entire staff of Khabroon had resigned over what they termed the “misuse” of public money by the Federal Ministry of Information who had issued advertisements in favour of the controversial Kalabagh Dam.
Journalists’ economic conditions
On January 8, 2007 the IFJ renewed calls for implementation of the Seventh Wage Award in Pakistan and pressed the government to address the working conditions that journalists face.
On September 15 2006, Protest Sit-Ins for wage justice for Pakistani journalists were hosted by the PFUJ. The protests took place outside the Governor's House in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The present economic situation for media workers in Pakistan continues to deteriorate, with little job stability or support from employers, coupled with low wages.
Pakistan newspaper owners are bound to pay the wages set out by the Seventh Wage Board decision, which handed down minimum job conditions and wages on October 8, 2001 and was back-dated to 2000. However, these wages are still not being paid, and the government of Pakistan has done nothing to improve the economic conditions of journalists.
On October 4, 2005, journalists around the world united in a global day of action to protest the continued exploitation of Pakistani journalists by newspaper employers that has seen thousands of journalists suffer. The IFJ launched the global day of action on the anniversary of the Seventh Wage Award decision. Many Pakistani journalists work two or even three jobs to make ends meet and others have to work under daily wages, without the security of a permanent position or offer of appointment.
October 8, 2005 – South Asia Earthquake
The South Asia earthquake killed more than 54,000 people, mostly in Pakistani-controlled areas of the disputed Kashmir region. Approximately 50 journalists based in Balakot, Muzzafarabad, Karachi and Islamabad were identified as killed, missing, injured or directly affected by the earthquake, through the loss of family members, their homes or in many cases both. Sardar Hanif of daily Jang, Abdul Hafeez, the editor of Juraat, and Javed Iqbal Butt, a photographer for daily Jinnah all lost their lives as a result of the earthquake. A further five journalists were reported missing and over twenty journalists sustained injuries.
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
Violence against Media in Pakistan : October 2006 Report
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| A senior journalist was murdered in mysterious circumstances
On October 30 Political Administration of Bajaur Agency stopped journalists During the month, three incidents of attack on media property were In the third incident officials of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory In October two journalists threatened by police and administration officials. The other incident of harassment was reported in Rawalpindi where a There were four incidents in which journalists were robbed. Kazim Raza, On October 10, Station Director, Radio Pakistan Kohat, Laiq Zada was Muhammad Nawaz Tahir, senior vice president of Pakistan
Chief Justice of Pakistan , Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, declared In Lahore three journalists—Wadood Mushtaq (ARY), cameraman Saeed Sarbazi of Business Recorder who was arrested by intelligence agencies Rafiq Aziz, editor of a local daily ‘Chamag' from Turbat (Balochistan), Maqbool Hussain Siyal, bureau chief of Online News Agency, was shot ENDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Journalist stage protest against killing, kidnaping and baton-charge of journalists.
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| ISLAMABAD: The journalists of Rawalpindi and Islamabad staged a six-hour sit-in in front of the Press Information Department here on Thursday to press the government to punish the police officer who ordered a baton-charge on reporters and photographers covering a suicide attack outside a five star hotel. During the protest, the journalists shouted slogans against the government, police and the capital administration. The protesting journalists passed three resolution, demanding the suspension of the additional SP, recovery of Sohial Kalandar, the editor of Daily Express Peshawar who has been kidnapped, and arrest of those involved in the murder of senior journalist Malik Muhammad Ismail. Afzal Butt, secretary of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club, demanded the government immediately suspend the additional SP. | ||||||||||
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Letter to the Editor "Journalist Killed" Published in Daily Dawn on Sunday November 26, 2006.
WHEN I read the news item ‘Journalist found brutally murdered’ (Dawn, Nov 2) I was shocked that what is happening in Pakistan. Yet another brave journalist is murdered for writing and speaking boldly. Why is there no security for people who are speaking and writing the truth?
Malik Mohammad Ismail was one of the big names in Pakistan journalism and his murderers have not been traced or caught so far. His was the 12th murder in Islamabad in a month and criminals involved in none of the cases have been traced yet. If the killing of journalists keeps rising like this, no writer will dare speak against the wrong happenings in society.
ABEER KHAN
West Palm Beach, USA
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Murder of A Veteran Journalist and Resident Editor of national news agency Pakistan Press Internatl (PPI) Islamabad,Malik Mohammad Ismail Khan.
Resident Editor of a national news agency Pakistan Press International (PPI) who was brutally murdered in Islamabad under mysterious circumstances.
Veteran journalist and Resident Editor of a national news agency Pakistan Press International (PPI) Islamabad, Malik Mohammad Ismail Khan 53, who served 30 years as a journalist, was brutally murdered by unknown assailants in Islamabad, federal capital of Pakistan), at midnight on 31 October/1 November 2006.
According to the police, his dead body was found from the green belt area (Jungle) of F-6/1, some 30 feet away from Shaheed-e-Millat Road, opposite Super Market not so far away from his office (PPI), on 1 November 2006, in the morning as an unknown person, while his waistcoat was near his body and his identity cards, press card, visiting cards, telephone note book, cash rupees 580, two cheques and glasses for vision were in it. Police stated that, his waistcoat was found by a Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) later on in the day and they contacted his office (PPI) Islamabad in the afternoon, and PPI staff told his family members about the incident after 2pm in the day.
His family members, journalist community of twin cities, Federal Ministers Mohammad Ali Durrani (Information), Ghulam Sarwar Khan (Labour, Menpower and Overseas Pakistanies), Principal Information Officer Ishfaq Gondal, Senator Doctor Babar Awan (Central Secretary Finance PPP), Senator (Retired) Farhatullah Babar (Spokesman of Mohtarma Banazir Bhutto and PPP),and many other politicians from different political parties rushed towards the (PIMS) where his dead body was in mortuary.
Police station Kohsar in Islamabad, registered an FIR No. 466 dated 01.11.2006 against unknown assailants on the complaint of his son.
He had no enmity and personal conflict with anyone. He had very good reputation as accommodative and well mannered person in the community of journalism. He was a democrate and thorough gentleman who always worked for the positive image of "independent journalism" in Pakistan.
He was born on 14 February 1953 in village Daurdad, (Attock) Pakistan. His father Late Muhammad Yaqoob Khan was an active member for the Movement of Pakistan. Muhammad Yaqoob Khan was a true follower of "Quaid-e-Azam-Mohammad Ali Jinnah" and "Mother of Nation-Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah". He gave support to Fatima Jinnah (Sister of Quaid-e-Azam) as an elected member of Electoral College of Pakistan from his district Attock (then Campbellpur) against Gen. Ayub Khan in presidential elections and faced false cases but did not bow down.
Muhammad Ismail Khan started his career in journalism as a correspondent of Pakistan Press International (PPI), and daily "Taameer", from Attock (then Campbellpur) in 1976. He was a staff reporter of the daily The Muslim, Pakistan Times, and Frontier Post. Later on he joined (PPI) as a senior staff reporter in Islamabad. He worked as a Bureau Chief of PPI News Agency in Peshawar, Bureau Chief daily the "Frontier Post" in Islamabad, Special Correspondent, Editorial writer and Columnist of the daily "Mashriq", Editor Monthly "Overseas" Islamabad, Founder Chief Reporter and Editor Reporting "Online News Agency", Bureau Chief and Resident Editor of PPI News Agency, and worked as a script writer for Radio Pakistan.
He got married in 1977 with, the daughter of the prominent poet Syed Majid-ul-Baqree (R) Deputy Director of Information (Punjab), who was appointed as District Information Officer in Attock at that time. Malik Ismail left behind a wife and two sons. Both his sons are well educated and well mannered. One is living in the UK and the other was living in Pakistan with him.
He was a much loved and respected, son, brother, husband, father, uncle and grandfather, he will be dearly missed and his family will not be able to come to terms with how he died until his killers are found and punished. It is more sad and terrible for his family members, friends, wellwishers, journalist community and people of his area that his killers are still at large.
He was very well known, honest, upright, fearless and a conscientious journalist who was widely admired and respected in the community of journalism for his professionalism and qualities of character.
There are mysterious circumstances surrounding his death because he had no enmity with anyone, plus it could not have been a mugging as his wallet was intact except for his mobile phone which is still missing.
Doctor Khawaja who did the autopsy stated that it was a “target killing” and there were very clear marks on his wrist, whilst the police said, that they tied his hands before taking his body to the hospital.????????????
He was murdered when he went out from his office at 9:30pm on 31/10/2006 for a walk. According to his colleagues he looked and behaved normally that day. He did not seem in any way disturbed by any threats. At the same day, in the evening he had been attended a function in Turkish Embassy which was last assignment of his life. His colleagues who met him there and one of them who dropped out side of his office said that he looked very normal and didn’t not share or discuss about any threat and fear.
Journalist community of Islamabad offered his Funeral Prayer on 1 November at 6:30pm in front of office of the Daily Dawn, which was attended by Politicians, Ministers, Parliamentarians and people from different walk of life. The next day on 2 November he was buried in his native graveyard of Village Daurdad (Attock) where his Funeral was offered by thousands of people from different walks of life including Ministers, Parliamentarians, journalists, lawyers, and notable personalities of Districts Attock, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar, which was led by former Provincial Minister and prominent religious scholar Qari Saeed-ur-Rehman, Principal Jamia Islamia, Kashmir road Rawalpindi Cantt.
Brutal murder of a Senior Journalist was widely condemned throughout the country by politicians, journalists, lawyers, social workers and other people of different walks of life. Parliamentarians of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) submitted an 'adjournment motion' to seeking discussion about the murder of Veteran Journalist in National Assembly of Pakistan while Provincial Assembly of NWFP condemned his brutal killing and paid rich tributes to him.
District Council Attock and Union Council Golra (Tehsil Attock) arranged special meetings to remember the srvices of Malik Ismail, and paying rich tributes to him and announced Peoples Colony Attock City Chowk and Daurdad link road, as "Malik Mohammad Ismail Shaheed" Chowk and Road. Both houses strongly condemned the murder of a senior journalist and appealed to Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shaukat Aziz and Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, for early arrest of actual murderers of a veteran journalist Malik Mohammad Ismail Khan.
Journalist’s national and international organisations including Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), International Federation of Journalist (IFJ), Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ), Press Clubs and Union of Journalists of all cities strongly condemned the murder of a senior journalist and demanded a thorough investigation and early arrest of the murderers.
The journalist community throughout the country staged demonstrations against the murder of a veteran journalist in different cities of Pakistan including, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Hazro, Kamra, Hassanabdal, Fatehjang, Jand, Talagang, Chakwal, Jhelum, Lahore, Gujarkhan, Murree, Gujranwala, Lahore, Tarbella, Peshawar, Haripur, Muzafarabad, Mirpur, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkar, MirpurKhas, Quetta etc.
Former Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the murder of Mr. Ismail, and paid rich tributes to him.
Even though the government have claimed that they will find the murderers very soon, up until now the murderers are still at large.????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
