KARACHI: Two investigative reports from Dawn have been featured on the Global Investigative Jour­nalism Network’s (GIJN) list of ‘Best Investigative Stories from Pakistan in 2024’.

The list, which showcases some of the most impactful investigative reports of the year, features eight reports by local and international outlets which, GIJN calls “a testament to the courage of the members of the Pakistani press, who continue to dig despite censorship and ever more menacing red lines preventing them from reporting”.

Naziha Syed Ali’s investigation for Dawn, into shady practices by Bahria Town Karachi and its violation of a Supreme Court order regarding the acreage of its project, entitled ‘Catch Me If You Can’, tops the list.

Next comes ‘The Crooked Road’, an exhaustive Dawn investigation by Muhammad Akbar Notezai, into the fate of a 29km road connecting the remote town of Buleda in Balochistan with Turbat, which has been ‘under construction’ for over three decades now.

From international media outlets, the list features a BBC Urdu report looking into viral allegations of an alleged sexual assault on a student in Lahore and how the disinformation spiralled into widespread unrest across educational institutions in Punjab.

An AFP investigation into the ‘blasphemy business’ that entraps young men and women into sharing allegedly blasphemous content and then brings cases against them, is also featured.

The list also highlights DropSite News’ investigation into harassment faced by Pakistanis living abroad over their social media activity.

A FactFocus report on an ‘unauthorised’ Rs480 million project to create an artificial river bank in Hafizabad, LokSujag‘s feature on the exploitation of sanitary workers from religious minorities and a Profit story on the debt write-offs secured by powerful sugar mill owners, are also featured on GIJN’s list.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2024