7 journalists killed in a year in Pakistan, report

ISLAMABAD: There have been 91 different incidents against the media in Pakistan in one year, including the murder of seven journalists.

The Freedom Network of Pakistan's report for the year 2019-20 was released on the occasion of the May 3, World Press Freedom Day, which described these events.

The report, titled 'Murder, Harassment and Attacks: Troubles for Journalists in Pakistan', looked at the events from May 2019 to April 2020.

According to a statement issued in this regard, the report, citing one-year incidents, said that between May last year and April this year, 91 incidents of violence against media representatives and the media were reported, including the murder of seven journalists and a blogger. Come on.

According to the report, these incidents suggest that journalists are constantly being intimidated and harassed in Pakistan over media freedom and access to information.

The Freedom Network's report on the 91 incidents stated that the figures showed that an average of seven incidents occurred each month during a year or at least two incidents per week.
These violations against the media include the murder of seven journalists, the kidnapping of two, the arrest of nine, the attack on 10, the intimidation of 23, the prosecution of eight and the 10 cases of censorship

The report looked at what was the most dangerous area for journalists in Pakistan and said that Islamabad was the most dangerous place for journalists to work and 31 out of 91 incidents took place in the federal capital.

The second most dangerous place for journalists was Sindh province where 24 cases were recorded in a year, besides 20 cases were reported in Punjab, 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 3 in Balochistan.

The report also said that in a period of one year, most electronic media journalists in Pakistan were targeted.

Of the 91 cases reported in the year, 63 were against electronic media journalists, while 25 were against print media, with 3 online journalists and no radio journalists. ۔

In its report, the Freedom Network also mentioned the most threatening elements in Pakistan and said that 42% of the 91 cases were registered against media persons.

According to the report, the family members of the targeted media workers believed that it included influential people including the state, its institutions, political parties, religious and criminal groups, and unknown sources.

In a statement, Freedom Network Executive Director Iqbal Khattak said, "Various methods of censorship are being used in Pakistan to control journalism, including killing, intimidating and harassing journalists." included'.

He said that according to statistics, no place in the four provinces of Pakistan, including the federal capital Islamabad, is safe for journalists.