KARACHI: Representatives of journalist unions and press clubs from across Sindh have called upon authorities to take urgent action for the safety of journalists and freedom of expression in the province, which continues to be one of the most worrisome places with regard to journalists’ safety in Pakistan.

They were speaking at the launch of a special report titled ‘Journalism in the Shadow of Violence’ released by the Freedom Network at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday.

The Network’s executive director Iqbal Khattak said the report pointed out that Sindh continued to remain one of the most worrisome regions with regard to safety of journalists in the country, even though the province had a special law for combating impunity in crimes against media persons.

There were 184 incidents of violence against journalists in Sindh between 2018 and 2023, including killings of 10 journalists, he said quoting the report.

He shared details of the report, which pointed out growing influence of journalists, their low-income backgrounds, lack of enforcement of labour laws in the news industry and lack of digital safety skills, making them vulnerable to threats and forcing them to take undue risks.

“When you challenge the system, it often triggers reaction,” the report quoted a senior police official as saying. The report recommends that the Sindh Bar Council and journalist unions should collaborate to offer legal support to journalists.

The report also calls for making the Sindh Commission for the Protection of Journalists and other Media Practitioners fully functional by setting up its regional offices across the province.

Pakistan Journalists Safety Coalition’s Sindh chapter president Amir Lateef said that attacks on journalists in the province had seen an alarming rise. “The issue is that the state is not supporting journalists,” he said.

Senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said that media owners should also be held accountable for the safety of their workers.

Khan Muhammad, president of the Khairpur Press Club; Imdad Buzdar, president of Sukkur Press Club, and Sajjad Khanzada, president of Hyderabad Press Club, said that brazen attacks on journalists would continue until the perpetrators were brought to justice.The event was organised by the Sindh chapter of the PJSC.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2024