- Report says 34 Pakistani journalists killed since 2008
- Numerous journalists interviewed by AI complained of harassment or attacks by individuals they claimed were connected to the military spy agency
Journalists in Pakistan live under the constant threat of killings, harassment and other violence from all sides, including intelligence services, political parties and armed groups like the Taliban, Amnesty International said in a new report issued on Tuesday titled “A bullet has been chosen for you”.
The report says attacks on journalists in Pakistan describes how the Pakistani authorities have almost completely failed to stem human rights abuses against media workers or to bring those responsible to account.
AI has documented 34 cases of journalists being killed in Pakistan since the restoration of democratic rule in 2008, but only in one case have the perpetrators been brought to justice.
But these killings are just the most brutal statistic–many more journalists have been threatened, harassed, abducted, tortured or escaped assassination attempts in the same period, said the report.
“Pakistan’s media community is effectively under siege. Journalists, in particular those covering national security issues or human rights are targeted from all sides in a disturbing pattern of abuses carried out to silence their reporting,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.
“The constant threat puts journalists in an impossible position, where virtually any sensitive story leaves them at risk of violence from one side or another.”
The report is based on extensive field research into over 70 cases and interviews with over 100 media workers in Pakistan. It examines several recent cases where journalists have been targeted for their reporting by a range of actors.
Numerous journalists interviewed by Amnesty International complained of harassment or attacks by individuals they claimed were connected to the feared military spy agency. While some are featured in the report with names changed, others could not be included even under a false name because they feared for their lives.
The spy agency has been implicated in several abductions, torture and killings of journalists, but no serving ISI officials has ever been held to account – allowing it to effectively operate beyond the reach of the law. Human rights violations against journalists by the ISI often follow a familiar pattern that starts with threatening phone calls and escalates into abductions, torture and other ill-treatment, and in some cases killings.
Journalists are also victims of human rights abuses by non-state groups across the country. Aggressive competition for media space means that powerful political actors across the country put severe pressure on journalists for favourable coverage.
In Karachi, supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) religious group and others stand accused of harassing or killing journalists they consider critical.
In conflict-ridden regions in the northwest and Balochistan province, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ethnic Baloch armed groups openly threaten reporters with death and attack them in retaliation for seeking to highlight their abuses or not promoting their ideology. Journalists in Pakistan’s heartland of the Punjab have also faced threats from the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi-linked groups.
Despite the wave of violence and attacks, the Pakistani authorities have largely failed to hold perpetrators to account. In the overwhelming number of cases researched by Amnesty International, authorities rarely adequately investigated threats or attacks or brought those responsible to justice.