Censorship By the Bullet

0 April 2014

Pakistan: Journalists under siege from threats, violence and killings

Amnesty International has documented 34 killings of journalists since 2008.

© Aamir Qureshi.

At a Glance

• At least 34 journalists may have been killed as a direct consequence of their work since democratically-elected government was restored in March 2008.
• Only in one case have the perpetrators been convicted, the 2011 killing of Geo TV correspondent Wali Khan Babar, and even in this case there were serious concerns about fair trial issues.
• Since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formed government in 5 June 2013, at least 8 journalists have been killed across Pakistan as a direct result of their work. These include 6 journalists killed in 2014.
• Of the 34 killings since 2008, 9 took place in northwestern Pakistan (the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
• 12 took place in Balochistan province, and of these 6 happened in the province’s second town Khuzdar.

“

Pakistan’s media community is effectively under siege. Journalists, in particular those covering national security issues or human rights, are targeted from all sides in a disturbing pattern of abuses carried out to silence their reporting.

”

David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

Journalists in Pakistan live under the constant threat of killings, harassment and other violence from all sides, including intelligence services, political parties and armed groups like the Taliban, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

‘A bullet has been chosen for you’: Attacks on journalists in Pakistan, describes how the Pakistani authorities have almost completely failed to stem human rights abuses against media workers or to bring those responsible to account.

Amnesty International has documented 34 cases of journalists being killed in Pakistan in response to their work since the restoration of democratic rule in 2008, but only in one case have the perpetrators been brought to justice.

But these killings are just the most brutal statistic – many more journalists have been threatened, harassed, abducted, tortured or escaped assassination attempts in the same period.

“Pakistan’s media community is effectively under siege. Journalists, in particular those covering national security issues or human rights, are targeted from all sides in a disturbing pattern of abuses carried out to silence their reporting,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

“The constant threat puts journalists in an impossible position, where virtually any sensitive story leaves them at risk of violence from one side or another.”

The report is based on extensive field research into over 70 cases and interviews with over 100 media workers in Pakistan. It examines several recent cases where journalists have been targeted for their reporting by a range of actors.

Numerous journalists interviewed by Amnesty International complained of harassment or attacks by individuals they claimed were connected to the feared military spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). While some are featured in the report with names changed, others could not be included even under a false name because they feared for their lives.

The spy agency has been implicated in several abductions, torture and killings of journalists, but no serving ISI officials has ever been held to account – allowing it to effectively operate beyond the reach of the law. Human rights violations against journalists by the ISI often follow a familiar pattern that starts with threatening phone calls and escalates into abductions, torture and other ill-treatment, and in some cases killings.

Journalists are also victims of human rights abuses by non-state groups across the country. Aggressive competition for media space means that powerful political actors across the country put severe pressure on journalists for favourable coverage. In Karachi, supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) religious group and others stand accused of harassing or killing journalists they consider critical.

In conflict-ridden regions in the northwest and Balochistan province, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ethnic Baloch armed groups openly threaten reporters with death and attack them in retaliation for seeking to highlight their abuses or not promoting their ideology. Journalists in Pakistan’s heartland of the Punjab have also faced threats from the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi-linked groups.

Despite the wave of violence and attacks, the Pakistani authorities have largely failed to hold perpetrators to account. In the overwhelming number of cases researched by Amnesty International, authorities rarely adequately investigated threats or attacks or brought those responsible to justice.

Only in a handful of high-profile cases have more thorough investigations been carried out, and only after public outrage has made it impossible for authorities not to act.

“The government has promised to improve the dire situation for journalists, including by establishing a public prosecutor tasked with investigating attacks against journalists. But few concrete steps have been taken,” said David Griffiths.

“A critical step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against journalists are brought to justice. This will send a powerful signal to those who target journalists that they no longer have free reign.”

Media enterprises operating in Pakistan must also ensure they provide adequate training, support and assistance to journalists, in an important, practical step towards addressing the risk of abuses while they are at work.

“Without these urgent steps, Pakistan’s media could be intimidated into silence. The climate of fear has already had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and the broader struggle to expose human rights abuses across Pakistan,” said David Griffiths.

Not Better in Pakistan

Open secret: Censorship in Pakistan

Pakistani journalists stage a demonstration during a 2011 protest in Karachi against the killing of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad. 

Rizwan Tabassum / AFP / Getty Images

KARACHI, Pakistan — When Pakistani readers of the International New York Times opened the front page of the newspaper on March 22, they were confronted with an odd sight: more than a quarter of the page was blank. The e-paper filled in the missing bits: excerpts from Times reporter Carlotta Gall’s new book detailing the relationship between the Pakistani state and militant Islamist outfits, which the government preferred to keep hidden. Two months later, it happened again when an opinion piece on Pakistan’s blasphemy laws was blanked out.

The big white spaces are less conspicuous than the violent attacks that journalists in Pakistan have repeatedly suffered. (The most recent was in April, when Geo TV journalist Hamid Mir was injured in a gun attack as he was exiting the Karachi airport.) Both, however, point to the muzzling of media outlets, which have come under attack from many factions, including Islamist militants, political parties, commercial interests and the state itself.

According to a recent Amnesty International report, 34 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 2008, when a democratic government returned to power. In only one case have the killers been convicted: Wali Khan Babar, a correspondent who also worked for Geo TV, was killed in January 2011 by suspected members of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), a dominant, Karachi-based political party. Six men were convicted in March. Four received life sentences, and the other two, tried in absentia, were sentenced to death. The party denies having anything to do with the murder.

In an “overwhelming majority of cases,” the Amnesty report finds, “the Pakistani authorities failed to carry out prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigations into human rights abuses against journalists, or to bring those responsible to justice.” The perpetrators vary, from the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the military’s powerful intelligence agency; the MQM; and a range of militant outfits, including the Pakistani Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Al Qaida-linked groups.

In the early ’90s, Pakistan had only one state-owned TV channel, which delivered the news at 9 p.m. every day. In 2002, then President Pervez Musharraf loosened regulations, allowing private ownership of media outlets. Now, the country has 89 privately owned TV channels and 115 FM radio stations. While radio reaches more Pakistanis than any other medium, television tends to be more influential in shaping political discourse. Most newspapers are written in regional languages, but the Urdu ones have a high circulation, despite the fact that nearly half of Pakistan’s 180 million people are illiterate. While English-language papers do not have a high readership across the country, they are influential because they cater to Pakistan’s educated elite. One of the most prominent media conglomerates is the Jang Group, which owns several Urdu- and English-language newspapers and Geo TV. 

Pakistani TV journalist Hamid Mir, who survived an April attack by gunmen in Karachi, is surrounded by journalists as he leaves the Supreme Court in a wheelchair after his appearance before the judicial commission in Islamabad on May 19.

Aamir Qureshi / AFP / Getty Images

Despite the recent gains in media freedom, the state, and especially the ISI, keeps tight control over what is printed.

Hamid Mir made an official statement about the threats he had received from “rogue elements” within the ISI. He cited his coverage of the killings of Baloch separatists, who have been fighting a low-intensity insurgency with the state for decades, as the reason he was made a target. Immediately after the attack, Geo TV, a privately owned channel, aired his suspicions about his attackers, accusing the ISI of the assault. For a few hours, the picture of Zaheerul Islam, the agency’s furtive chief, was ever-present in Geo’s coverage. The ISI’s response was swift. It filed a complaint against the network with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA), and the Jang Group was fined, forced to issue an apology and its channel was blocked for two weeks. Yet even while the case was still pending, some cable operators preemptively took Geo TV off the air, citing government pressure.

“This sets a very dangerous precedent and opens the door for future attempts to shut down news channels that are critical of the state and its agencies,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said in an open letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“It was the first time Geo took Pakistan’s spy agency’s name openly on TV — but it has been taught a lesson,” said Taha Siddiqui, an independent TV journalist. “As we see, it issued an apology and yet is facing shutdown.” While the case is over, Geo continues to face pressure from both the state and other media companies that smell blood. In May, Mubashir Lucman, an anchor for a rival TV station, accused the channel of blasphemy for televising the wedding of an actress in which musicians were playing a religious song. 

In Pakistan, no matter what the political rivalries are, the ISI is always at the top. In a recent story I wrote, I was asked to not name the ISI; the name was basically cut out and I was asked to just write ‘agencies.’

A copy editor who did not wish to be named

The Express Tribune

The ISI is also widely suspected in the 2011 death of Saleem Shahzad, a freelance journalist who, just days before being abducted, published a story about the alleged infiltration of the armed forces by Islamist militants, much to the army’s chagrin. He was kidnapped in a heavily guarded neighborhood in Islamabad, the capital, and was found by a ditch on the outskirts of the city two days later, bearing torture marks. A high-level judicial investigation was inconclusive. But before his disappearance, he discussed his fears and the agency’s attempts to reach him with Human Rights Watch, saying that he had received a murder threat.

“In Pakistan, no matter what the political rivalries are, the ISI is always at the top,” said a copy editor at the English-language newspaper The Express Tribune, who did not wish to be named for fear of losing her job. (Disclaimer: The author of this article also works at The Express Tribune.) “In a recent story I wrote, I was asked to not name the ISI; the name was basically cut out and I was asked to just write ‘agencies.’ ”

Criticism of the Pakistan army is only one “invisible red line” out of many, said Shoaib Hasan, a former BBC correspondent. “Others include the nationalist insurgency in the southwestern province of Balochistan and the state’s covert backing of Islamist militants.”

Balochistan has been a particularly sore point for the military, which has been implicated in kidnappings andextrajudicial executions of Baloch residents whom it suspects of being insurgents. In response, many relatives of missing persons have held protests against the government. Last October, the members of Voice of Missing Baloch Persons (VBMP), an organization that pressures the government to release information about abducted citizens, walked from Quetta, the regional capital of Balochistan in southwestern Pakistan, to the nation’s capital in the north to raise awareness of the issue. The protesters were frequently harassed and threatened by government officials on their march to Islamabad. 

“When the VBMP long march reached Islamabad, we were told it will not be covered or will only be covered in the local edition,” said the Tribune copy editor. When the marchers arrived in the capital, Dawn, the country’s most widely read English-language newspaper, was one of the few to cover the story on its front page. The Tribune ran a two-column story without a picture on Page 4. The News, an English-language daily also owned by Jang, didn’t run the story, but alluded to it in a different article about “[l]eft-wing Pakistani activists” in London protesting in solidarity with the marchers; the piece was 120 words long. It was left to international channels Al Jazeera and the BBC to do more in-depth coverage. Many of those interviewed suspect that the ISI attacked Hamid Mir because of his coverage of the march, which included an interview with the leader of the march, Mama Qadeer Baloch.

I said to the editor, ‘What am I to do, start writing about cooking or films?’ Because that’s all that’s left.

Ayesha Siddiqa

Political journalist and author

And it’s not just what is reported but how it’s reported that is a source of tension. While doing an investigative story about the nationalist movement in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir for a local paper, TV journalist Siddiqui said, his editor told him that “the story could not contain the words ‘Pakistan-occupied’ or even ‘Pakistan-administered’ Kashmir. Instead it would go as ‘Azad Kashmir,’ which literally means ‘independent Kashmir,’ when in reality it’s not so.”

Zarrar Khuhro, magazine editor at Dawn, said that the “decline of the power of the state” has prompted many nonstate actors — euphemistically referred to in the press as namaloom afraad, or unidentified persons — to bully the media as well. Journalists call out political parties for their coercive tactics. According to Hasan, the former BBC correspondent, newspapers were intimidated with veiled threats into covering speeches by MQM head Altaf Hussain and Shahi Syed, a regional leader of the Awami National Party.

Islamist militant groups also use pressure tactics: a Guardian report from February detailed exactly how editorial policy at the Tribune changed in the wake of multiple attacks on its building and offices, at least one of which was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and its affiliate Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Armed men, who still have not been identified, threw explosives and fired indiscriminately at the paper’s offices in August 2013 and then again in December. Three staffers were killed in another attack in January, also claimed by the TTP.

In March, Raza Rumi, an Express News anchor known for his liberal views, was shot by armed men on motorcycles as he left the television studio in Lahore, allegedly for his criticism of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which have consistently been used to target religious minorities. While he survived, his driver did not. Rumi has since fled the country. In an email interview, he wrote, “The teams that worked with me for my TV shows constantly told me not to speak about [the] blasphemy law and accept it as a fair law. I defied and faced the music, I guess.”

Following the TTP attacks, The Express Tribune clamped down on its criticism of Islamic militants, who had telephoned the channel right after to claim responsibility. According to an email by editor Kamal Siddiqi to senior staff that was leaked to The Guardian, “[N]othing against any militant organization and its allies” should be published. Ayesha Siddiqa, an op-ed contributor to the Tribune and the author of a book on the Pakistani military’s business interests, complained to The Guardian about the lack of freedom in writing about militancy and the state. “I said to the editor, ‘What am I to do, start writing about cooking or films?’ Because that’s all that’s left.”

Pakistani journalists protest against an attack on television anchor Hamid Mir in Karachi on April 21.

Asif Hassan / AFP / Getty Images

On May 26, a Pakistani-American doctor belonging to the minority Ahmadi community was shot dead by suspected militants in Punjab. Ahmadis are a persecuted community whose members cannot legally call themselves Muslims and have been the subject of many deadly attacks. While the story was featured on the front page of Dawn, it received scant coverage in other newspapers. After a blasphemy charge, the Urdu-language Jang newspaper that along with its English edition, The News, is a part of the broader Jang Group, was already under pressure from religious groups. It buried the story in the inner pages of both editions, with the Urdu one — Pakistan’s mostly widely read newspaper — devoting just one sentence to the story.

Rumi doesn’t blame the media for clamping down. “Let’s face it. Express Group lost at least four workers [in the TTP attacks] who were not even reporters or those who opined. These are brutal and unfair times and media houses have to think of safety when the state is not providing adequate protection.”

Even though the media continue to face restrictions on their reporting, there has been little solidarity among journalists, largely because of deep rivalries between outlets. After the accusations by the Jang Group against the ISI in Mir’s attack, a vicious public dispute erupted in which the media organization’s competitors supported the spy agency in a bid to increase their own market share. Ary News, for instance — which also employs Lucman, the anchor who accused Geo of blasphemy earlier this year — devoted an entire section on its website to what it called the “Geo/ISI controversy.”

At a time when everyone is threatened,  “the media should unite itself and support each other,” Siddiqui said. He also argued that “owner-editor separation” must be institutionalized.

Khuhro added, “Maybe people will realize that stronger editorial stances are required, but I don’t believe it. In all this, the truth has been the first and foremost casualty.”

A Case Study of Press Censorship

Censorship in Afghanistan: Death to journalists

Since the beginning of the Karzai regime in 2002, twenty Afghan journalists have been murdered, and more than 200 violent physical attacks against journalists have been logged. Scores have fled Afghanistan after receiving threats against them and their families. Journalists have been sentenced to death, and several remain in jail after being arrested for their work. Radio and television stations, print media, and Internet services have been attacked, blocked, damaged, and even burned to the ground by government and other politico-religious agents and gangs.
As dozens of governments around the world pour billions of dollars and 100,000+ troops into Afghanistan to defend the Karzai government, it is an appropriate time to explore the human rights and legal issues regarding censorship and freedom of the press there.
Kabulpress’ founder and editor-in-chief’s most recent book, “Censorship in Afghanistan” just published by Norway’s IP Plans e-Books addresses this issue in a thorough manner. Written in the Dari language, it is the first book to explore the systematic suppression of free speech in Afghanistan that has been a feature of its ruling authorities for hundreds of years. Kamran experienced censorship first hand when he established Kabulpress.org in 2004, which was aimed at revealing corruption in the Afghan government and NGOs who were mis-handling millions of development dollars flowing into Afghanistan. He was detained several times by government agents and received numerous anonymous warnings about his work. The Afghan Secret Service tried to bribe him as a paid informant before he finally fled to India, where he was granted political refugee status by the U.N. and re-settled in Norway.

Censorship in Afghanistan/ ISBN 978-82-93037-00-2 E-book/PDF/ Download
There is a special focus on the administration of Hamid Karzai over the past nine years, when after the fall of the Taliban, Afghans hoped that a new era of freedom of speech was beginning. To the contrary, under the Karzai regime, the newly freed media has been suppressed through government statutes and actions, and violent extra-legal autocratic political and religion-based organizations, which the government has been unable or unwilling to control.
The content of “Censorship in Afghanistan” makes it clear why it is the first book ever on the topic. Censorship in Afghanistan has been constant, harsh and violent. Any media that discusses censorship and government or religious corruption and misdeeds is punished both physically and economically. TV, radio, and print media have learned that their staffs will be threatened, assaulted, and/or imprisoned, and their property will be confiscated or destroyed, if they present views contrary to or critical of the Afghan power structures (government, religion, and illicit drug industry). Staff journalists have learned, usually painfully, that they will be demoted or fired if they continue disfavored work. Independent journalists have been threatened, jailed, and murdered, if they displease the powers that be.
“Censorship in Afghanistan” includes interviews with several exiled Afghan journalists, including Parwiz Kambaksh, the 20-year old student whose death sentence for sharing an article about women in Islam spawned a global outcry over the Karzai administration’s stifling of free speech. Journalists who have fled to the West and been granted political asylum, even though they may work for international organizations such as Voice of America and the BBC, are afraid to speak out because their families back in Afghanistan may be harmed as a result. The arm of Afghan censorship proves to be quite long and effective.
Private businesses that advertise in censored/disfavored media are threatened by the same powers, receiving visits or anonymous communications from the gangs and officials who support the status quo. Therefore, media censorship is a black hole from which little or no information escapes, with a few exceptions, like Kabul Press and IFEX, which are based outside Afghanistan. The Afghan Communications Ministry categorizes Kabulpress.org as “pornography,” and with increasing success, blocks access to it on the Afghan Internet. This level of censorship of Kabulpress.org occurs in only two nations, Iran and Afghanistan, ironically at polar opposites in terms of support from the West. However given the growing cozy relationship of Karzai and Ahmadinejad, it is logical.
Currently, “Censorship in Afghanistan” is published only in Dari. It was funded by a grant from the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association to encourage Afghans to understand the depth and breadth of censorship in their country. Due to censorship, Afghan citizens and journalists have little knowledge of the problems. There is simply too much fear in the Afghan media to document these abuses.
As an e-book, “Censorship in Afghanistan” can be downloaded on personal computers in Afghanistan, thus avoiding the certain violent attacks Kabul booksellers would receive if they carried it. Printed copies are also available from the publisher for Dari speakers living in non-censoring countries.
Funds are not available now for an English version, but the author is hopeful they will surface. It would be an eye-opening source of information for Westerners whose governments spend billions to support the Afghan government, and for families with relatives risking their lives in the military or in NGOs that support the Karzai administration and its censorship. The 219 page book will be updated annually with relevant censorship news and information.

"Censorship in Afghanistan" includes the following nine chapters:

Chapter 1 focuses on the long, sad history of crimes against humanity and human rights abuse in Afghanistan of which censorship and illiteracy has been a centerpiece.
Chapter 2 introduces the general topic of censorship and specifically what occurs in Afghanistan. It discusses the enormous amounts of money that governments and NGOS have poured into Afghanistan to support a free media. Consultants have been paid huge sums of money to do this, but the net result over the past nine years is a situation that is nearly as bad under the Taliban.
Chapter 3 discusses who carries out the censorship, including Afghan security forces, the Taliban, the Ministry of Culture, various governors, warlords, commanders, and those involved in the massive drug trade. Add to that list, international troops, the Attorney General, Interior Ministry, Education Ministry, Finance Ministry, Parliament and other governmental institutions.
Chapter 4 discusses the phenomenon self-censorship for self-preservation, involving security, political and economic considerations, and social and cultural elements that must be considered by persons contemplating speaking out.
Chapter 5 catalogs the names and circumstances of journalists killed in Afghanistan since 2001. It includes both Afghan and foreign journalists. Additionally, it includes a list of journalists who fled Afghanistan after threats and attacks due to their work, and a calendar of both fatal and non-fatal attacks from 2001 to 2009.
Chapter 6 reviews the development of mass media in Afghanistan, after the fall of Taliban, including radio, TV, print, news agencies, independent journalists, the Internet, the mass media audience, and the quality of journalistic efforts.
Chapter 7 concerns journalists and other individuals and organizations dedicated to defending freedom of information in Afghanistan. They include the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, the United Nations, the International Freedom of Expression eXchange, and Reporters Without Borders, which globally publicize attacks on journalists and free speech in Afghanistan.
Chapter 8 presents an overview of Afghan media law, and its various permutations including the creation of the government news agency Bhaktar, a history of various media laws going back fifty years, military censorship, Taliban media laws, and current trends in media law enabling legal censorship by the Afghan government.
Chapter 9 discusses possible solutions to opening up Afghanistan’s closed media world. They include programs to eliminate illiteracy, the transitional justice project espoused by former Finance Minister and 3rd place 2009 presidential candidate Dr. Ramazan Bashardost. It also provides a list of additional resources and sources used. Additional attachments include the latest media laws in Afghanistan enacted last year by its Parliament and copies of original government documents that encourage and promote official censorship.
“Censorship in Afghanistan” is a remarkable book that could spur needed change in Afghanistan. Afghans have suffered long and hard under the control of corrupt governments, war lords, drug lords, and religious autocrats. It is knowledge like this that will help set them free. It is particularly sad that the leading global news media and writers have been so silent on this topic for so long.

KHAN 2014

Malik Mumtaz Khan named for RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award 2014

Posted on September 10, 2014 in Noticeboard

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from Rural Media Networks Pakistan

(RMNP) September 10, 2014- Rural Media Network Pakistan is pleased to announce the late Malik Mumtaz Khan, former president of the Press Club Miranshah, North Waziristan is the winner of the RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award 2014, acknowledging his courage and dedication to his profession.

His son Mohammad Suleman Khan will be awarded cash prize of PKR 60,000 during a ceremony in Ahmedpur East, District Bahawalpur on September 14, 2014. Malik Mumtaz Khan  is the first tribal journalist nominated for award, sponsored by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) .

“The recognition of Malik Mumtaz Khan for the award is a symbol of struggle for the right of information and a reminder to international community about the tragic conditions Pakistan has been suffering since the war on terror after 9/11 attacks,” said Ehsan Ahmed Sehar, President of Rural Media Network Pakistan.

Malik Mumtaz Khan, 48 years old and based in Miranshah , the main town in North Waziristan, in the Federally  Administrated Tribal Areas, was shot dead on 27th February 2013. He was associated with Khyber Television, GEO News and the JangNewspapers Group and had a journalistic experience of 20 years. He was also elected as president of the Press Club Miranshah. Malik Mumtaz Khan left behind a widow, two sons and a daughter. As per RMNP monitoring Khan was on his way to his home near Miranshah when he was gunned down by unidentified armed men waiting in a vehicle with tinted windows of the kind widely used by militants. North Waziristan remained in the grip of Pakistani and foreign militants so it was hard for journalists to work freely. It is the first time in North Waziristan’s history that the Pakistani Army has waged the successful operation Zarbe-Azb against militants.

Pakistan has become one of the deadliest place for journalists now, where seven journalists and five media workers lost their lives up to 10th September this year  as per monitoring of RMNP. One media worker and three journalists were shot dead in two consecutive days in the month of August 2014, said RMNP President Ehsan Sehar.

The RMNP President stated that despite the passage of more than 18 months, the killers of Malik Mumtaz Khan have not been brought to justice.  Khan was receiving threats for some time but no group has so far claimed responsibility. Even Tehreek-e-Taliban denied that it was in any way involved in his murder, though family sources said that they have no personal enmity. He said that journalists working in the Federally Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA) have been facing multifaceted threats since the onset of the global war on terror. Pressure from security agencies and administration, threats from militant groups and expectations from tribal leaders make the job of reporting all over more difficult. Striking a balance between unbiased reporting and self-preservation on a daily basis creates a lot of stress, he maintained.

The RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award was founded in March, 2005 to honour late Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhmmad Khan Khamis Abbasi,the last ruler of former Princely Bahawalpur State, who had given the right of adult franchise to the inhabitants of the former Bahawalpur province in 1954. Other citizens of Pakistan were allowed to exercise this right in 1970.

The aim of this award is to recognize the courage and commitment of journalists and media organizations. Another aspect of the award is to focus national and international attention towards the state of media freedom in Pakistan. We hope that in future the award will promote a favourable culture for the freedom of expression.

LAUNCH CEREMONY

Launching Ceremony of Online Urdu Edition of FOE Newsletter Sadiq News Ahmedpur Food Club, National HighwaY


The Rural Media Network Pakistan(RMNP) with the assistance of UNESCO

has launched the electronic edition of FOE newsletter Sadiq News in

Country Urdu Language on April 26 at 8 pm in AhmedpurEast, rural

Pakistan. Emir of Bahawalpur Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi was the chief

guest in the launching ceremony which was chaired by Director Public

Relations Bahawalpur Division Govt of Punjab Nazir Khalid,while

Director Museum Hussein Ahmed Madni and regional representatives of

three mainstream political parties,PPP,PML(N),PML(QA) and President

Bar Association alongwith other speakers including journalists bodies

office bearers highlighted the role of FOE newsletter Sadiq News in

defending press freedom since December 2005.Ten senior rural

journalists representing four rural Press Clubs and National Press

Union received UNESCO book The Net for Journalists and other UNESCO

software,extra resources and lesson plans for educators.


E-edition of Sadiq News in Urdu language will be distributed online to

rural journalists and media organisations in Pakistan free of cost.


Among other things, the Sadiq News collects information from the Rural

Media Network, the National Press Union, and local reporters on press

freedom violations in remote areas. The newsletter also is a tool to

help rural journalists learn about their rights and network with

colleagues.


For more information contact pakistan.sadiqnews@gmail.com





1-Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi givining UNESCO books and training material

to journalists of National Press Union,Union of Journalists and Press

Club office bearers of Chanigoth,Mubarakpur,AhmedpurEast and Uchsharif

in a ceremony held in local hotel.(Staff Photo)





2-President RMNP Ehsan Ahmed Sehar presenting report in Sadiq News

Online Launching Ceremony,Nawab Salahudin Abbasi,Ex-Federal Minister

Farooq Azam Malik,Director Public Relations Bahawalpur Division Nazir

Khalid,Director Museum Hussein Ahmed Madni,PML(N) leader Mian

RafiaturRehman and two former Chairmen of Muncipal Committee Malik

Rasheed Ahmed and Mian Ilyas Ayaz are sitting on stage.





3-Nawab Salahudin Abbasi giving RMNP books gifts to Director Public

Relations, Bahawalpur Nazir Khalid,Director Museum Bahawalpur Hussein

Ahmed Madni,DDOR AhmedpurEast Fayyaz Hussein Abbasi,DSP Amir Taimour

Khan,Ex-Federal Minister Farooq Azam Malik and PML(N)leader Mian

RafiatuRerhman Rehmani.





4-Director Public Relations Bahawalpur Division Nazir Khalid

presenting books gift to Nawab salahuddin Abbasi on the behalf of the

Rural Media Network Pakistan





5-Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi,Director Public Relations Bahawalpur Nazir

Khalid ,Ex-federal minister Farooq Azam Malik,Director Museum Hussein

Ahmed Madni,PML(N)leader Mian RafiaturRehman Rhmani,Ehsan Ahmed

Sehar,President Bar Association Khalid Khan Baloch,District General

Secretary PML(QA)Syed Salahuddin Ahmed Jeelani,District General

Secretary PPP Bahawalpur Mohd Ali Ahsan and General Scretary National

Press Union Mazhar Rasheed addressing the launching ceremony of the

Online Edition of Urdu FOE Newsletter Sadiq News in local hotel.-

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AWARD!!!

Pakistan’s first female video journalist named for Sadiq Press Freedom Award

Pakistan’s first female photo journalist, Saadia Sehar, is the winner for the Rural Media Network Pakistan Sadiq Press Freedom Award 2011”, acknowledging her courage and dedication with profession .

She will be awarded cash prize of PKR 1, 25,000 during a ceremony in Ahmedpur East, District Bahawalpur on September 25, 2011. Saadia is the first woman to receive the World  Association of Newspapers & News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) sponsored Award.

Her husband Azizullah Haidari ,a correspondent and photographer for the Reuters news agency, was shot dead by Talibans on November 19, 2001 in Afghanistan along
with his three colleagues, Harry Burton, an Australian cameraman for Reuters; Julio Fuentes, a Spanish correspondent for the Madrid-based newspaper El Mundo; and Maria Grazia Cutuli, an Italian correspondent for the Milan-based daily Corriere della Serra.  http://www.cpj.org/killed/2001/azizullah-haidari.php

Saadia Sehar was teaching in a school in Pakistan, but after the killing of her husband in Afghanistan, she joined the journalism and got her master’s degree
in Mass Communication. She worked  with Reuter as Radio and TV monitor and contributed stories to various local newspapers on women issues, extremism and terrorism. She also worked for Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) as staff writer and photo journalist and also acted as host and producer for current affairs programs at Vectone TV. Now she is affiliated with GEO TV channel in Islamabad, as reporter and cameraperson and working as stinger for China’s Xinhua news agency.  Saadia was selected for one week ” International Training of Electronic Journalism”  organized by UN Alliance, ICFJ & Research Centre for Human Resources in Nepal. She also benefitted with one week ICFJ training on “Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age” held in Alexandria, Egypt.

She was beaten and arrested by police on September 29, 2007 in Islamabad while covering a demonstration against former military dictator Pervez Musharraf , at least
one dozen other  journalists also received injuries. She was again arrested on November 3, 2007 in Islamabad while protesting against the ban on GEO channel’s transmissions and detained for one night at G-6, Markaz Women Police Station in federal capital. “The recognition of Ms Saadia Sehar for the Award is a symbol of struggle for the right of information and a reminder to international community about the tragic conditions Pakistan has been suffering since the war on terror after 9/11 attacks,” Ehsan Ahmed Sehar, president Rural Media Network Pakistan  PMNP)
said.

Pakistan has become the deadliest place for journalists now, where 13 journalists have been killed during current year, according to RMNP monitoring. He said  that Saadia Sehar set a new precedent for women in Pakistan media by adopting her husband‘s profession after his brutal murder.

There is urgent need to raise the status of women working in urban-oriented media by giving them decision making positions and to rectify the glaring absence of female rural journalists among the thousands of district correspondents representing 65% rural populace of the country.

The RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award was founded in March, 2005 to  honor late Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhmmad Khan Khamis Abbasi,the last ruler of former Princely Bahawalpur State, who had given the right of adult franchise to the inhabitants of former Bahawalpur province in 1954, while other citizens of Pakistan were allowed to exercise this right in 1970.

The aim of this award is to recognize the courage and commitment of  journalists and media organizations. Another aspect of the  award is to divert national and international attention towards the state of media freedom in Pakistan. We hope, in future the award will  promote a favorable culture for the freedom of expression.

The Award Live!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk-FgHs6PN4

RMNP SADIQ GMF adopts BALI ROAD MAP

Nusa Dua, Bali (ANTARA News) - The Global Media Forum has adopted the Bali Road Map as a base for media to contribute in the post-2015 development agenda, which includes press freedom.

Indonesian Minister of Communication and Informatics Tifatul Sembiring noted that the media was expected to maintain world peace, prosperity, and harmony.

"I believe the media has a significant role in maintaining and leading the world to become a more civilized society and achieve peace, prosperity, and harmony," he said during his closing speech at the Global Media Forum in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.

In the Bali Road Map, the participants of the forum had proposed some recommendations to be highlighted by the governments, United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other international organizations.

To the governments, they had proposed at least 15 points that should be immediately followed up, one of which was press freedom on gathering information that should be included in the post-2015 development agenda.

The participants had also required the governments and the UN body to review restriction on media contents criminalization and reconsider the international journalist imprisoning cases through the human rights standard.

To the media-related subjects, both the journalists and the media business people, the road map has suggested nine points--commitment to respect the professionalism and journalism ethics, provide development relevant information, empower journalists, support journalistic works safety, and encourage gender equality policy.

In particular to the UNESCO, the Bali Road Map has proposed the mentioning of freedom of expression, including press freedom, in seeking and gathering information related to sustainable development, as well as to support gender equality and journalists safety.

The Global Media Forum was held in Nusa Dua, Bali, on August 26-28, 2014, and aimed at contributing to the ongoing international debate about the importance of media, information, and communication technologies for peace and sustainable development.

RMNP SADIQ 2014 Nominees

NOMINATIONS INVITED FOR THE RMNP SADIQ PRESS FREEDOM AWARD

The Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) has invited nominations for its annual Sadiq Press Freedom Award 2014.

The award, instituted by RMNP with support of WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS PUBLISHERS carries a cash award of, (PKR 60,000). The award will be announced on September 10 2014.Earlier in 2011 WAN-IFRA had sponsored RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award with net cash of PKR 1,25,000 and was given to Islamabad based Pakistan first female video journalist Sadia Haideri whose husband Azizullah Hideri was gunned down in 2001 along with three western colleagues in Afhanistan.

The Sadiq Press Freedom Award is intended to honour a person, organisation or institution that has made a notable contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom in Pakistan.

The award is named in honour of the late Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Khamis Abbasi , the last ruler of former Princely Bahawalpur State, who had given right of adult franchise to the inhabitants of former Bahawalpur province in 1954 while other inhabitants of Pakistan were given their right in 1970.

Individuals as well as professional and non-governmental organisations working in the field of media and human rights are invited to nominate themselves or other candidates for the annual award.

The jury for the Sadiq Press Freedom Award will comprise six eminent journalists, academics and human rights experts. The members of the jury will be nominated by RMNP.
Judgment Criteria

Sadiq Press Freedom Award is given to recognize the courage and commitment of Pakistani journalists and media organizations. Another aspect of this award is to divert national and international attention toward the state of media freedom in Pakistan. In the long run, the award will promote a culture which is favorable for freedom of expression.

The name of a journalist who was killed or disabled only because he continued to expose corruption of government functionaries, influential personalities and politicians will come on the list for consideration.

These criteria will also cover a journalist who was killed or sustained injuries due to his fair reporting against extremists, and militants and never compromised professional commitment.

Priority will be given to those journalists who were killed or sustained injuries and have poor financial background and hail from remote areas of Pakistan

Nominations should be submitted by August 31, 2014 to
Ehsan Ahmed Sehar
The Coordinator
Sadiq Press Freedom Award
Rural Media Network Pakistan
246-C, Sattelite Town Block Z
AhmedpurEast, District Bahawalpur
Pakistan
Tel: (062) 22 73092 Fax: (061) 22 72560 Cell 0301 77 40 405 Email: rmnpak@gmail.com

Nomination form for Sadiq Press Freedom Award
Name of person being nominated
(if the candidate is a person)
Name of the Organization
(if the candidate is an organization)
First names Family Name
Name of organization
Address of nominated person/organisation Street name/number
City
Tele
Email
Brief biography
(if the candidate is a person)
History
(if the candidate is an organization)

Please highlight the nominee’s contribution to the defence and/or promotion of freedom of information over the years
(Continue on separate sheet, if necessary)

Name and address of person making the nominations

Please add all necessary background documents (e.g. resumé, statutes for an organization, etc.), which may be of use for the pre-selection process.

The material concerning candidates should be sent before August 31, 2014 to:

Ehsan Ahmed Sehar
The Coordinator
Sadiq Press Freedom Award
Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP)
246-C, Sattelite Town Block Z
AhmedpurEast,District Bahawalpur
Pakistan

Web. www.ruralmedianetworkpk.org