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Pakistan's Media Under Threat

Matiullah Jan, a senior Pakistani journalist, was abducted in broad daylight from a school in Islamabad where his wife teaches. His kidnapping suggests an attempt to intimidate and harass journalists, which has been increasing in Pakistan. It makes the country increasingly dangerous for working journalists. Both the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court have observed that such incidents are unacceptable and the government must provide an explanation. However, the information and interior ministers claim no knowledge of the incident. Media freedom has faced consistent assault in recent years through intimidation campaigns against journalists, resulting in self-censorship and fewer professionals willing to speak out. Restricting public debate and denying citizens information rights harms democracy.

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90 views2 pages

Pakistan's Media Under Threat

Matiullah Jan, a senior Pakistani journalist, was abducted in broad daylight from a school in Islamabad where his wife teaches. His kidnapping suggests an attempt to intimidate and harass journalists, which has been increasing in Pakistan. It makes the country increasingly dangerous for working journalists. Both the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court have observed that such incidents are unacceptable and the government must provide an explanation. However, the information and interior ministers claim no knowledge of the incident. Media freedom has faced consistent assault in recent years through intimidation campaigns against journalists, resulting in self-censorship and fewer professionals willing to speak out. Restricting public debate and denying citizens information rights harms democracy.

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mahamnadirminhas
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7/23/2020 Fear of silence

Fear of silence
Editorial July 23, 2020

We still do not know who took away senior journalist Matiullah Jan from the school where his
wife teaches, or why he was taken away at all. His ‘abduction’ in broad daylight, in the federal
capital, by men wearing police uniforms (and others in plain clothes) suggests that this is yet
another attempt to intimidate and harass journalists – a trend that has been on the increase in the
country. Matiullah was picked up a day before he was due to appear before the Supreme Court to
answer contempt charges. Matiullah himself has said he was blindfolded, driven around for some
hours and then abandoned a short distance outside Islamabad. As with cases before this, the
incident makes it clear that Pakistan is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for working
journalists. Other than pure intimidation, no one has been able to explain why anyone would wish
to kidnap a jobless journalist without any ability to pay a large ransom or serve any other purpose.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court, which took suo-motu notice of the matter, and the IHC
hearing a petition filed by Matifullah’s brother both observed that such incidents are unacceptable
and that the government needs to provide an explanation. The initial statement by the ministers of
information and interior that they know nothing about the matter does very little to calm the
apprehensions which now run through the media community and other people in general. The
problem is that such incidents inevitably weaken the voice of journalism. Already we see a huge
amount of self-censorship within the media. Only a few professionals are today willing to stand
up and express their opinions. Naturally even fewer will now be willing to speak out.

Media freedom has been under a consistent assault over the past few years, and the only way to
tackle it is through solidarity. A divide-and-rule strategy has been deliberately deployed to keep
the media weak. We have seen organised campaigns launched against journalists and media
houses, and some in the media are only too eager to join in. The end result is a media that is
fearful of doing its job. The media is supposed to speak truth to power but in Pakistan that lofty
ideal has rarely been reached due to the crippling restrictions and environment of fear all around.
Denying citizens their right to information automatically taints our democracy at all levels, and
restricting public debate serves the interests only of the powerful elites. Our brave journalists risk
their lives daily by bringing us stories that matter. For them to be silenced deprives all of us of our
rights.

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7/23/2020 Fear of silence

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