ISLAMABAD, July 3: Speakers at a seminar here on Monday held the government responsible for the growing threats to the lives of journalists covering the war on terror in the tribal areas and conflict in Balochistan.
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) had organised the seminar on “Pakistani Media: Challenges and Threats”.
The speakers said journalists were being killed, kidnapped and harassed while performing their professional duties not only in the tribal areas and Balochistan, but in the rest of the country as well. This was a grim reminder of the fact that freedom of press and expression was still a far cry in our society that had witnessed militancy, sectarianism and military dictatorships and where political and democratic institutions had started collapsing since the inception of the country.
They said there was no access to information law that could protect journalists and journalism and that reporters were very vulnerable to strict punishments from courts in even ordinary matters. They said though the rulers and the civil society were well aware that without a free media, democracy would continue to remain a dream in Pakistan, they never allowed media to grow qualitatively.
Controller of a private TV channel’s current affairs section, Hassan Khan, said the tribal journalists were working in an environment of constant fear and intimidation. He said at a time when the US-led war on terror was at its speak with all its collateral damage, the state was forcing tribal journalists to either accept government jobs or leave tribal areas and stop reporting. He was pointing towards the death of a tribal journalist, Hayatullah Khan, who was found dead recently after seven months of his kidnapping.
He said two other tribal journalists, Amir Nawab and Allah Noor Wazir, had also been killed prior to Hayatullah Khan. He said the political administration, security agencies and the militant groups were harassing the tribal journalists to stop them from independent reporting. The journalist did not even know where to go and how to protect themselves.
Mr Khan said intra-tribal rivalries was another factor curbing the freedom of expression in the tribal areas. As a result, nearly all the working journalists left the tribal areas and shifted to the nearby settled districts.
“There has been complete black out of news from Fata for several months and the miseries and plight of millions of tribesmen are out of sight as the government deliberately hides the reports about military casualties and suffering of the locals in the ongoing operation,” he observed.
Another speaker said the problem was not that the government had put restrictions on freedom of expression or was harassing the journalists. In fact, every undemocratic regime indulged in such practices, but the lukewarm response of civil society was very discouraging.
He urged the civil society to support the media on issues of public interest.
An analyst said the journalists in Pakistan faced challenges at four levels: from media policy, operational problems, legislative and judiciary.
He said the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority bill was passed without consulting the stakeholders. The bill allowed the arrest of journalists without warrant and does no distinguish between the editors and cable operators.
In his concluding remarks, Zafarullah Khan said the rule of law was a pre-requisite to all types of freedom. Political parties, civil society, media and the government all bore the responsibility to work for ensuring the right of freedom of expression of the citizens.
Journalist Rauf Klasra and media analyst Matiullah Jan also spoke on the occasion and criticised the state’s policy and the civil society’s response to the suffering of journalists.