ISLAMABAD: As people across the globe observe World Press Freedom Day, an investigative report by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has revealed that 48 journalists were deliberately targeted and murdered for their reports from 2002 to till date.
According to the report, the PPF has investigated over 200 cases of murdered media workers and it determined that 48 were deliberately targeted and murdered for their work from 2002 to present. Another 24 were killed while on assignments but not targeted during the same period, the report added.
In 2018 and 2019, the PPF investigated six cases of murder of journalists. However, the PPF determined that the prime causes of murders were personal or business animosities and rivalries rather than their work as journalists.
Journalists murdered during 2018 for personal reasons included Ehsan Sherpao, secretary general of Charsadda Press Club; Anjum Muneer Raja, sub-editor of daily Pukaar; Zeeshan Ashraf Butt, reporter for daily Nawa-e-Waqt; Abid Hussain, correspondent of daily Naya Daur, Multan; Saeed Butt, reporter, daily Khabrain; and Muhammad Sohail Khan, reporter, daily K2 Times and AVT Khyber television channel.
According to the report, 24 journalists had been killed in the line of duty since 2002 while 171 came under serious assaults.
Another 77 journalists came under minor assaults while 18 journalists had been formally arrested while 26 were detained. Moreover, 32 media houses also came under attack, according to the report, while residences of 11 journalists came under attack.
The PFF also registered 130 incidents of censorship while the number of total cases monitored by PPF stands at 699.