A year after becoming head of the Pakistani government, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Prime Minister Imran Khan to acknowledge the alarming deterioration in the state of press freedom in the country, and to take urgent measures to remedy.
Mr. Imran Khan
Head of Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Office of the Prime Minister
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad, Pakistan
Paris, July 31, 2019
Prime Minister,
During an official visit to the United States last week, you answered a question about recent attacks on freedom of information in your country: “Pakistan has one of the freest press in the world […]. To say that there are restrictions against the Pakistani press is a joke. “
For journalists in your country, Prime Minister, this “joke” is not humorous. You say that the Pakistani press is one of the freest in the world. It would be “a lot freer than in the UK”, did you think it was good to add in another exchange session ?
Two things one: either you are very badly informed, in which case it appears urgent to renew your entourage; or you are knowingly disregarding reality, which is serious in terms of your responsibilities.
Just hours before your landing on US soil, Pakistan’s main news channel, Geo News , was once again censored . Your fellow citizens, who were trying to get independent information on this public service trip, found only a black screen looking for the channel of the channel.
A month ago, this is an interview with former president Asif Ali Zardari, broadcast on the same Geo News , and led by renowned journalist Hamid Mir , who was cut off after a few minutes without the slightest explanation. Contacted by RSF, the interviewer assures you that you are the cause of this brutal and totally arbitrary censorship.
On July 8, three other news channels, AbbTakk TV , 24 News and Capital TV , were brutally removed from the cable networks for several days, without their management being notified. Najam Sethi , a well-known journalist who a well-known journalist who collaborates with 24 News , confirmed to RSF that the cut of the three channels was actually an act of reprisal linked to the coverage of a press conference by Maryam Nawaz Sharif, another figure in opposition to your party.
These shameless cases of censorship, which seriously jeopardize journalistic independence and pluralism, are characteristic of undemocratic regimes. A year ago, you won the general elections by repeating during the campaign the slogans “Tabdeeli!” (The change) and “Naya Pakistan!” (A “new Pakistan”).
It is clear that in terms of freedom of the press, the change in question is for the worse. Ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in the RSF World Press Freedom Index , your country has lost three places compared to 2018. And the events of recent months do not inspire optimism about this. “New Pakistan”.
On May 4, the president of the Padidan press club in Sindh province, Ali Sher Rajpar , was shot five times at close range. Feeling threatened after publishing articles denouncing local corruption, he asked for police protection. In vain.
Four days earlier, another Pakistani journalist, Malik Amanullah Khan , was shot dead in the northern Dera Ismail Khan district. He was himself president of the Press Club of his city of Parowa.
In June, journalist and blogger Muhammad Bilal Khan , whose YouTube channel had more than 50,000 subscribers, was savagely stabbed . One of his latest videos was about one of your speeches, and in one of his latest tweets he was critical of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), your intelligence services. In all three cases, the police did not arrest anyone.
When they are not physically targeted, reporters who cross certain red lines are subject to judicial harassment, as the investigative journalist Shahzeb Jillani , prosecuted in April for “cyberterrorism” , because of a tweet in which he also mentioned an ISI agent.
Even the prestigious daily Dawn , founded by the father of the nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah as part of the fight against British colonialism, is under heavy economic pressure. Since April 24 , he has been deprived of any advertising revenue from your government’s ads. According to RSF sources, this arbitrary decision was taken in retaliation for an article published the day before regarding a press conference you held in Tehran, during which you acknowledged that fighters based in Pakistan had been involved in attacks on the Iranian soil. In other words, your government does not tolerate the press repeating in your country what you are claiming abroad.
Given this recent upsurge in freedom of information violations, the list of which is not exhaustive, you will understand, Prime Minister, that talking about “one of the freest presses in the world”clearly falls within ‘indecency.
We therefore ask your government to allow Pakistani journalists to practice their profession safely and independently, as provided for in article 19 of the 1973 Constitution.
So is the credibility of the rule of law and Pakistani democracy.
Please accept, Mr Prime Minister, the expression of my greetings.
Christophe Deloire
General secretary
Copyright ©2016, Reporters Without Borders. Used with the permission of Reporters Without Borders, CS 90247 75083 Paris Cedex 02 https://rsf.org
You know Independent Journalism needs fund to run the not for profit venture Please contribute if you like our effort Donate through PayPal Or paytm +919903783187 phone pe +919875416249 Google Pay +919875416249 or write to us editor@crimeandmoreworld.com
