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18 September, 2019
By SJA Jafri
MELBOURNE/ ISLAMABAD: Two more Shia journalists murdered in Pakistan during just last six days while dozens pushed into hot waters and beside all governmental announcements and Law Enforcing Agencies’ (LEAs) statements regarding the arrest of culprits and security of media-workers and despite demands of all country’s journalistic organizations those are either on pay-rolled of secret agencies or completely compelled, none of one country’s journalist, media outlet or union have any interest or concerned with the planned series of target killings of Pakistani Shia journalists since a long while on the other hand a current report compiled by a secret agency shows that over 120 journalists were killed in Pakistan during the year 2017-2018 but government did not public this report because of many reasons especially the government can never show the total failure of LEAs and security forces, involvement of ‘most influential state characters’ and one of most ‘inexpressible’ reasons which is the biggest cause of continuous killing of journalists.
Taken together, this recent round of tragedies highlights how dangerous it has become to practice journalism. At least 43 journalists have been killed for their work so far in 2018, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for an all-out investigation into the murder of Mirza Waseem Baig, a reporter for the 92 News TV channel, who was gunned down in the state of Punjab, in eastern Pakistan, after covering the activities of a criminal gang specializing in extortion.
Based in Sarai Alamgir, 120 km southeast of Islamabad, Baig died while being taken to hospital after being shot six times at close range by three men outside his home on 30 August.
The police officer in charge of the investigation, Ameer Abbas, told RSF that Baig was killed because of his coverage of this gang. “He did several reports about them that annoyed them, so they killed him and then fled,” he said. This was confirmed by his wife, Safia Waseem, who told RSF that she and her family had been obliged to move to a safer location after receiving threats in the wake of his murder.
Baig’s killers are reportedly linked to a gang specializing in extorting money from local elected officials, a gang that Baig had covered in a series of reports that are still available on his Facebook page.
“We call on Punjab’s chief minister to deploy whatever resources are needed to find those who instigated this shocking murder,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “We also urge the federal government and parliament to lose no time in finalizing a law guaranteeing the protection of journalists and the fight against impunity, in order to end the spiral of violence to which reporters are exposed in Pakistan.”
Another journalist, Zafar Abbas, was found murdered at the bottom of a well, in Punjab province on 11 September, four days after going missing. The investigation into his murder is currently stalled. At least three other journalists have been murdered in connection with their work in Punjab since the start of 2019.
Via its local partner, Freedom Network, RSF has contributed to the creation of several “Safety Hubs” for journalists throughout Pakistan to help offset the inadequacies of the protection they receive from the Pakistani authorities. Consisting of local journalists, these hubs are intended to provide appropriate assistance to journalists who feel threatened because of their work
Pakistan is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index.
