Pakistan is the classical example of Impunity to those who attack journalists and media professionals as though the rulers, government functionaries and politicians always talk about ending the un-announced impunity and bringing perpetrators to the justice but less is done practically.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Chairman of Pakistan’s leading political party, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which is in power since 2008 in Sindh, the second largest province of Pakistan in his statement has stressed that crimes against journalist community shouldn’t go unpunished worldwide, including Pakistan and called for special initiatives to “End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose mother former Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had thrown away draconian laws imposed press media by dictatorship in 1988, said his Party always works for creating an environment where working and professional journalists feel a complete sense of security.
He said that PPP has always condemned every act of intimidation, torture, victimization and murders of journalists all over the world and in Pakistan.
Pakistan has witnessed over 141 killings of journalists and media professionals since 2000 and only in five cases accused have been convicted at the first stage of legal course. The prosecuted cases include the 2002 murder of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal’s correspondent, Karachi’s Wali Khan Babar, Nisar Ahmed Solangi who was killed in June 2007 and whose killers were convicted in in 2012, Ayoub Khan Khattak, who was killed in October 2013 and whose killers were convicted in 2016, and Abdul Razaq Johra, who was killed in November 2008.
Though the world is marking End Impunity Day on 2nd November and media unions and media development organizations are holding demonstrations, seminars and other activities but unfortunately less is done on legal side.
Most of the murder cases are pending with police stations (known as dakhil dafter in Urdu language or sealed) or in courts with no active case proceedings and neither relative of the killed journalists nor media houses follow those cases. Principally it is the responsibility of the state to peruse the cases of its victim citizens but rare it happens in Pakistan.
According to media reports over six journalists and media professionals were assassinated in 2017. It includes killing of Haroon Khan, Swabi-Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in October, Bakshish Elahi, Bureau Chief of K-2 Times in Haripur (KP) in June 2017.
While in May armed robbers gunned down Abdul Razzaque, a correspondent for ARY News Television in an attempted robbery in Pattoki, Kasur (Punjab) and on the same day, hours later, Amir Shakeel, a 35-year old designer with Nawa-i-Waqt was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Lahore.
In February, Taimoor Abbas, 22, of Samaa TV, got killed in a Taliban attack on the channel’s news-gathering van in Karachi.
In January Muhammad Jan Sumalani of Daily Qudrat was shot dead by unknown assailants in Kalat (Balochistan).
Imran Khan, chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf another leading party of Pakistan, which is in power since 2013 in KP, the most troubled area of Pakistan due to militancy and is calm to some extent due to continued Military operation, has zero tolerance on crimes against journalists; however Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) which is ruling largest province Punjab since years and at federal level since 2013 is against such attacks.
The then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had visited injured renowned journalist Hamid Mir in hospital in 2014 and vowed to arrest the attackers but nothing happened. Same is the case with law enforcement agencies, Bench and bar and what not, all talk about media freedom and combating violence against media professional and, make commits to bring the attackers to justice but practically it is yet a dram in Pakistan.
Balochistan is most under-reported province and witnessed most of the killings with Impunity which has led to self censorship. Journalists of Balochistan are facing various kind of threats and pressures on the hands of state and non-state actors. Recently banned outfit issued threats and some attacks have been conducted as well.
The families of slain journalist cannot pursue the cases due to poor family back grounds or the attackers are more powerful and influential; therefore police and other LEAs internationally or un-intentionally left the case to be in pending.
In 2017 over six journalists were convicted and Pakistan witnessed first ever conviction to two journalists under anti-terror Laws of Pakistan introduced in 1997 by present PML-N government. Akhlaq Jokhio and Qurban Gadhi of local newspaper were booked under defamation law with sections of Anti-Terrorism Act but Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) convicted them in defamation allegation.
Later Sindh High Court Sukkur Bench set a side conviction of both on the petition filed by Shabir Shar, advocate Supreme Court with the intervention of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) leader Lala Asad Pathan.
PFUJ leader Lala Asad has observed that state should play its required in protecting and providing justice to the slain or attacked journalists as unfortunately state is not ready to give space to dissenting voice. Pakistani society in the whole is lacking tolerance and no one including political parties and other stake holders is ready to bear the criticism.
Lala Asad responding to a question said anchors basically are creating mess and they have been encroaching the space of journalists and unfortunately they are taking extreme positions either government or opposition and majority of them have taken tasks of forming or toppling the governments.
“State, media houses and unions should rethink about long term policies to end impunity in Pakistan and we need sit together for better Pakistan through free, unbiased and responsible media” he further added.
Lala Asad seeking details from convicted journalist in Sukkur Prison
According to reports in October two journalist Noonari brothers has been convicted by lower court in 12 years old murder case in Kandhkot-Kashmore, Sindh; while two more were convicted on defamation charges in Punjab.
The killers of Zakir Ali alias Shan Dahar of Larkana Sindh, Irshad Mastoi of Quetta, Hayatullah Khan of FATA, Abdul Haq of Khazdar, Saleem Shahzad and many other journalists yet to be brought to justice and the families are still waiting for justice.
