Pakistan tops list of Journalists killed in 2007

ISLAMABAD—2007 was the bloodiest and most difficult year for the journalists in South Asia. Pakistan topped the table with seven deaths followed by Sri Lanka with six and Afghanistan with five killings in the line of duty, according to the report released by South Asia Free Media Association.
Security of journalists remained a major issue in Pakistan. Highlighting the many risks journalists in Pakistan now face, Mehboob Khan, a freelancer, Noor Hakim Khan of Daily Pakistan, Javed Khan of Markaz and DM Digital TV, Muhammad Arif of ARY One World TV, Zubair Ahmed Mujahid of Jang, Nisar Ahmed Solangi, who worked for a Sindhi daily and Syed Kamil Mashadi, working with a private TV channel were killed during the year. Followed loud calls for providing protection and insurance cover to journalists covering conflicts.
In Pakistan, where free media flourished with the vibrant induction of private TV channels, the private electronic media faced worst times with successive draconian amendments made to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ordinance and, later, imposition of an arbitrary media code that took life out of the private TV channels. As the Musharraf government that took pride in allowing private TV channels panicked over massive public outrage against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan, it clamped down on private electronic media that sympathized with the cause of independence of judiciary.
Faced with the constitutional and judicial hurdles to legitimize sitting army chief’s controversial election as president, the military regime not only once again put the constitution into abeyance and suspended the fundamental rights by imposing a sate of emergency, but also took off the air all news channels and imposed blanket restrictions on free debate and live coverage of events.
The restrictions continue to keep the election campaign of most popular parties at low key. Under the new amendments made to PEMRA and the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance (PNNABRO), the TV owners and journalists can be imprisoned for three years and a fine up to Rs. one million and a publication can be suspended for a month without notice.
Yet, the joint struggle of journalists, lawyers, students and civil society organizations continue for a free media, independent judiciary and rule of law as the struggle for restoration of democracy enters its most crucial phase.
The journalists suffered immensely in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. In Afghanistan, especially in the Pakhtun belt across the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the journalists had to pay heavily amid the cross-fires of adversaries. They became victim to the guns of not only Taliban-Qaeda extremists, but also of various other forces, including the warlords and IASF. The Afghan authorities also showed short temper in tolerating criticism. Most worrisome was the introduction of illegal FM radio stations promoting hate and violence in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Sri Lanka, as the internecine ethnic conflict grew out of proportion, media persons and outlets became more vulnerable to conflicting pressures. The Government of President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam competed in enforcing restrictions on the media. However, Nepal and Bangladesh presented a mixed picture due to a difficult and tenuous transition. If the Maldives remained, as usual, a difficult country for journalists since many decades, Bhutan presented a case of healthy but careful opening for media with the advent of constitutional monarchy and introduction of democracy.
Most encouraging feature of 2007 was the valiant resistance put up by the media and the civil society against the curbs on freedom of expression and the right to know in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The bodies of working journalists, in particular, deserve our praise for putting up protracted resistance to the curbs imposed on media. The solidarity expressed by the media community across South Asia and world-wide was worth noting. As the year 2007 comes to an end, the media community should continue to keep up the banner of press freedom in our region.