• PFUJ calls on Centre, provinces to ensure safety of journalists
• PM reiterates commitment to providing safe environment for newsmen
• PTI sees ‘crackdown’ on media as ‘darkest chapter’ in country’s history

ISLAMABAD: Amid a surge in crimes against journalists, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has called on the federal and provincial governments to take concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of journalists.

The call came as PM Shehbaz Sharif reiterated his government’s commitment to protecting press freedom and ensuring a safe environment for journalists.

“There can be no real press freedom without accountability for attacks against members of the media,” PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari said in a statement on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

They noted with concern that crimes against journalists had witnessed a sharp surge, jumping nearly 60pc over the past year, with 142 cases documented between Nov 2024 and Sept 2025.

This creates “a climate of fear and intimidation that undermines press freedom and the public’s right to information,” the statement said, while demanding that the government ensure the safety and security of journalists; investigate and prosecute crimes against them in a timely manner’, ensure justice and reparations; and, create a safe and enabling environment for the press.

In his message on #EndIm­punity day, PM Shehbaz paid tribute to all journalists who have endured hardships in the pursuit of truth and justice, and expressed solidarity with the families of those writers, journalists, and media workers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“We will take all necessary measures to guarantee effective investigation of crimes against jou­­rnalists, deliver justice, and ens­ure legal action against the perpetrators,” he further emphasised.

He said a free, informed, and responsible press is vital to democracy, enabling public access to facts and truth. Acts of violence or threats against journalists, he noted, are attacks on freedom of expression.

The prime minister also urged the global community, media organisations, and civil society to help protect journalists and uphold press freedom.

‘Attempt to muzzle dissent’

Meanwhile, pointing to recent reports indicating that Punjab and Islamabad had become the most dangerous places for journalists in the country, the opposition PTI described it as a deliberate and systematic campaign to muzzle dissent, criminalise journalism, and suppress the truth.

PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram warned that the ongoing crackdown on journalists and the press represented “one of the most repressive chapters in Pakistan’s democratic history”.

He said the alarming rise in attacks, arrests, and legal cases against journalists underlined the regime’s growing intolerance for truth. The PTI leader also expressed his anguish over the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif, whose killers remain unpunished, despite the lapse of several years.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2025