PESHAWAR: The Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) organised a three-day training workshop here on “safety, digital security and psychosocial support” for journalists in collaboration with the European Union.

The workshop was attended by male and female journalists from various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the merged ones.

Various activities were held in order to benefit the media workers and journalists.

It was stated that 1,387 journalists had been killed all over the world since 1992, of which 61 belonged to Pakistan.

The speakers said that Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan provided freedom of expression to all citizens within the ambit of law.

Similarly, according to Article 19-A, access to information is a fundamental right of every citizen and based on this, effective Right to Information laws have been enacted in the centre and three provinces, while Balochistan Freedom of Access to Information Act (FOI Act 2005) is inconsistent with the contemporary democratic norms and principles.

They said it was need of the hour to repeal this law and replace it with a citizens’ friendly right of access to information law on the pattern as enacted in other provinces and the centre.

It was noted during the session that journalists working on crime, political and corruption stories were more exposed to risky situation.

The journalists commended CPDI for organising sessions to provide them guidance on ensuring their safety in field.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2020