PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of the Pakistan Journalists Safety Coalition (PJSC) has decided to step up advocacy for legislation aimed at protecting journalists and ending impunity for crimes against media workers in the province.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the coalition’s KP chapter held at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by chapter chairperson Saiful Islam Safi and discussed the recent meeting with Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi, who had committed to taking the demand for legislation to the provincial assembly, said a press release issued on Wednesday.
“It is imperative that the provincial government takes the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity seriously and takes concrete steps to bring perpetrators of crimes against journalists to justice,” the participants said.
The meeting was attended by Peshawar Press Club president M. Riaz, Khyber Union of Journalists president Kashifuddin, Freedom Network executive director Iqbal Khattak, veteran journalist Shamim Shahid, journalist Farzana Ali, Parliamentary Reporters Association secretary Asghar Ali and Faridullah Khan.
Mr Khattak informed the meeting that the federal chapter of the PJSC, led by senior journalist Hamid Mir, had written to the KP chief minister urging him to take up the issue of impunity for crimes against journalists.
“We need to keep the momentum for our genuine demand up,” he said.
The meeting decided that the Peshawar Press Club and Khyber Union of Journalists with technical assistance from media watchdog Freedom Network would lead an advocacy campaign for a single-point agenda — legislation based on the three “Ps”: prevention, protection and prosecution — to combat impunity for crimes against journalists in the province.
According to Freedom Network’s Q2 Threat Assessment Review Report covering April to June, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the second-most dangerous province for journalists after Punjab, accounting for 14 per cent of reported threat cases during the period.
The participants urged the provincial government to translate its commitment into concrete legislative and institutional measures to ensure the safety of journalists and hold perpetrators accountable.
Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2026
