MEDIA IN PAKISTAN
: AN OVERVIEW
Abstract
Dr.Sachin Batra
Soon after the independence media
in Pakistan
has been under strict government control. Pakistan has been ruled by the
Military for a long time. The regimes hammered the press through various
ordinances, advertisement and broadcasting policies for decades. In spite of
repeated assurances by the ruling elite of Pakistan for advocating freedom of
media, most of time has been under severe restrictions in some form or the
other.
According to various estimates
many journalists in Pakistan
have been killed. The threat against the fourth pillar was quoted by the
Reporters Sans Frontiers. Their Annual Worldwide Press Indexing (2007), listed Pakistan
on 152 rank out of 167. The International Federation of Journalist also
declared Pakistan
as the most dangerous place for media workers (2010). According to the
Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) 1,179 journalists have been killed in Pakistan
since 1992 till 2011. Another report of UNESCO (2012) had declared Pakistan as the second dangerous country in the
World after Mexico.
Although the struggle of the media
The Pakistani media has faced
challenges not only from the state and government but also from the pressure
groups, which didn’t even stop short of murder if they found that the coverage
ran counter to their interest.
Although, Pakistani journalists
have braved all odds to achieve the right to freedom of thought and expression but
had paid a heavy cost not only in terms of their lives but also otherwise. The
present government is now forced for bestowing the freedom to the Media.
The findings indicate that media was
suppressed by the rulers, in the name of regulations and suggests that the
history of violence against journalists, demands the formation of human rights,
followed with the removal of the black laws by the ruling elites. In spite of
all the hurdles the Pakistani media has faced and is facing, it is doing a
credible job which should be appreciated by all concerns and general public.
Key Words: Pakistan,
Media, Ruling Elite, Journalist, Draconian Laws
Dr. Sachin Batra
is an Assistant Professor in IMS, Noida
***************************************************************
Media in Pakistan –
Print Media :
The print media in Pakistan
dates back to pre-partition days of British India,
when a number of newspapers were established to promote communal agenda. The
first fortnightly journal ‘Nawa-i-Waqt’ was established in 1940 by Hameed
Nizami, one of the founding fathers of Pakistani Journalism. This group also published
the conservative English newspaper “The Nation” from Lahore. In 1977 an article defined,
Nawa-i-Waqt as the ‘self-appointed custodian of the ideology of Pakistan’, and,
in the first five years of existence of the country, it ‘had hunted and pursued
a remorseless campaign against all liberal trends and progressive forces in
national life’.1. Javed Siddique, editor of daily Nawa-i-Waqt in
Islamabad, refers, in this regard, to the policy, or editorial, aims of his
newspaper that, ‘The newspaper does not support the ‘so-called war against
terrorism’,
The newspaper ‘Dawn’, founded by Quaid-e-Azam and first
published in 1941, was dedicated to promote an independent Pakistan. 2. The Dawn Group of newspapers
is Pakistan’s
second largest media group and produces an array of publications which include
The Star, Herald and the newspaper Dawn, which is its flagship. It is
considered a liberal, secular paper with moderate views.
The Jang Group of Newspapers is Pakistan’s
largest media group and publishes the Urdu language Daily Jang, The News International,
Mag Weekly, and Awam was established in 1942 in Delhi by Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman. After
independence it was moved to Karachi.
This media group is having a range of Urdu and English publications and four TV
channels. The Group’s flagship publication is the Urdu-language newspaper Daily
Jang, which is printed from six locations across the country and it also
publishes arguably the second largest English newspaper The News’. 3.
Generally speaking, the group is reputed to have ‘a moderate conservative
perspective’. 4. Its English publications tend to be more critical of
current political affairs and players, while the Urdu publications are milder
in their approach. The Star is Pakistan’s
most popular evening newspaper, and the Herald, is a current affairs monthly.
Tele-Vision
In mid 1960 Television was established in Pakistan,
was also brought under the strict control of the government. Pakistan
Television Corporation (PTV) broadcasts began in 1964. By the late 1990s Hindi
channels were launched through satellite technology. 2. Today, PTV has six
channels, one of which, PTV Global, broadcasts in Europe, Asia and the US.
This National brand broadcasts programmes in the many different languages of Pakistan.
PTV’s state monopoly was ended in 2003 when the market for electronic media was
liberalised. This led to the boom in new private TV channels that today
transmit soaps, news, dramas, and talk shows for millions of viewers. 2.
In 1989 Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto tried to break PTV’s
monopoly of terrestrial TV by establishing the People’s Television Network.
This channel was later renamed Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company
(STN), and in 1990 it sold some of its broadcasting time to private company the
Network Television Marketing (NTM). NTM further developed as an entertainment
channel and it acquired popularity mainly for its dramas and music shows. In
the late 1990s, however, it was brought down allegedly by inner strife and
charges of corruption. In 2005 this terrestrial television network was finally
re-launched as ATV. 5.
Despite the wide-ranging process of electronic media
liberalisation that was initiated in 2002, to date PTV has maintained its (near) monopolistic
position in the provision of terrestrial services. 6. While cable and satellite
channels were allowed entrance into the new media market, the Pakistani
government was careful in keeping a tight control on the television programmes
being offered through terrestrial beams.
The Regulatory Framework
Pakistan’s media-related
legislation dates back to the British colonial era. 8. As such, it was
characterised by an inherent tendency to restrain, rather than promote, freedom
of expression. Subsequent civilian and military governments did not feel
sufficient incentives to reverse this approach in a radical way, and they
preferred to maintain a certain degree of continuity in order to protect their
own class privilege. Religious leaders have promulgated blasphemy laws that
have curbed freedom of expression, the intelligence services have manipulated
the media, and the civil bureaucracy have been used to control the media
through its administration of media laws, licensing and placement of public funds
for ads.
In 1954 an attempt was made to deal with the 12 press laws
that had been issued since 1860. A Press Commission was then established by the
Central government. The conclusions of its work, however, were quite innocuous.
When they were released four years later, they highlighted the patriotic
character of the press and its sensitive relations to issues of the security
and integrity of the country. . The various military regimes in Pakistan have
had a special interest in controlling the media, and initiated many media laws to
censor the media.
Press and
Publication Ordinance (PPO)
The first step in introducing media laws in the country
was done by the then military ruler Field Martial Ayub Khan who promulgated the
Press and Publication Ordinance (PPO) in 1962, which eventually ‘borrowed a
great deal from the repealed laws of the British era’.8. But even before the
original PPO had been issued, a considerable corpus of laws had already been
introduced in the Pakistan Penal Code, all of them prescribing punishments for
communication activities that were deemed harmful to the stability of the
country. 2.
Ayub Khan nationalised large parts of the press and took over one of the two
largest news agencies. After the lifting of martial law in June 1962, this
ordinance was replaced in 1963 by a new regulation, which in practice
guaranteed continuity of legislation and further strengthened the government’s
control over the media. A major amendment to the original ordinance contained
provisions for the appointment of a commission for “inquiring into the affairs”
of any printing press or newspaper’.9.
. More draconian additions were made
to the PPO during the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980’s. According to
these new amendments, the publisher would be liable and prosecuted if a story
was not to the liking of the administration even if it was factual and of
national interest. 2. It was only in 1988 that the 1963 PPO
was finally repealed and replaced by a new, more media-friendly,
legislation. This ordinance has been
generally credited with the creation of a legal environment conducive to the
expansion of print publication. 10.
The
Official Secrets Act
In Pakistan there are laws which
actually permit public officials not to reveal information to the media. ‘The
Official Secrets Act’ says that government officials cannot pass information to
the media without authorization. Under the rules, no official can give
information to the journalists except the minister or secretary of any
ministry. The Special Power entails that prejudicial reports shall be
punishable and the government shall have the power to prohibit publication of
newspapers or periodicals containing prejudicial reports .The law directly
affects the fundamental right of freedom of expression and human rights. ‘Press
and Publications Ordinance’ 1997 require the printing press and newspapers to
register with the government for licensing.
Press and
Publication Regulatory Authority (PAPRA)
The government introduced a new
body ‘Press and Publication Regulatory Authority' (PAPRA) to control the press,
which advocates a more self-regulatory mechanisms. Under the panel code procedure, blasphemy is
severely punishable, for example, on July 8 2003; a court in Peshawar convicted a journalist in a
blasphemy case and sentenced him to life imprisonment with heavy fine. He
contributed a blasphemous letter in the newspaper on 29 January 2001, which
caused violent protests. 11.
The Regulatory Authority for Media Broadcast Organisations (RAMBO)
&
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
(PEMRA)
Probably one of the most relevant pieces of
military legislation affecting the media has been the establishment and
formalisation of a media regulatory authority. The Regulatory Authority for
Media Broadcast Organisations (RAMBO), the predecessor of the Pakistan
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), was established in 2000, and one
of the four components of its mandate was to ‘facilitate the devolution of
responsibility and power to grassroots by improving the access to mass media at
the local and community level’.12. This was apparently in response to
specific clauses in the country’s constitution about de-centralising
broadcasting and it was probably also linked to the devolution process
initiated by Musharraf in 2001. 13. The Authority PEMRA was enabled to
stop any electronic broadcast relating in the name of "vulgarity"
Journalists view the defamation act as replacement of the printing and
publication act.
In 2002 General
Musharraf put an end to this more permissive legislation by introducing a new
series of restrictive laws in the period leading to the October elections. Among
these laws there was also an ordinance, formally approved by the federal
cabinet in January 2002, which aimed to create an autonomous regulatory
authority for an independent electronic media. New ordinance section 5A
prohibits any news reports on terrorism, unless law enforcement agencies allow,
and section 20 of the 2002 PEMRA Ordinance was amended to put the same ban on
television stations also. The penalties for breaking the new ordinances are
severe. Newspapers can be suspended for up to 30 days. Broadcast stations
forfeit their facilities and equipment, and the licensee or representative can
be sent to jail for three years, fined Rs 10 million or both. 14.
The
controversial 2004 Defamation (Amendment) Act expanded the definition of
defamation and increased the punishment for offenders to minimum fines of 1,00,000
rupees and/or prison sentences of up to five years; however, this legislation
has not yet been used to convict members of the press. The Provisional
Constitutional Order, which replaced the constitution, suspended Article 19 of
the constitution relating to freedom of the press, and two additional
ordinances imposed severe curbs on print and electronic media respectively,
barring them from publishing or broadcasting "anything which defames or
brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or
executive, legislative or judicial organ of the state," as well as any
broadcasts deemed to be "false or baseless." Those journalists
considered to be in breach of the ordinance could face jail terms of up to three
years, fines of up to 10 Million Rupees and cancellation of their broadcaster's
license. 15.
Probably in 2005 probably the exponential growth of cable
TV channels and the evident problems in keeping all of them under a tight
control, the Musharraf administration decided to introduce a first amendment to
the PEMRA Ordinance. Amid rising civil unrest, mainly spearheaded by the
lawyers’ movement, the situation repeated itself in 2007, when the government
introduced a decree amending the PEMRA Ordinance. This second amendment in
practice prohibited ‘printing or broadcasting of anything which defamed or
brought into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or
executive, legislative or judicial organs of the state’.16. A third amendment enacted on 3rd November
2007 ‘notified at least seven new violations that were not part of the version
of the law that existed before the state of emergency’ and it carried enhanced
punishments and penalties. 17.
Growth of Media
Print Media
In 1997 the total number of
daily, monthly, and minor publications was 4,455 but by 2003, six years later,
only 945 remained. Circulation however has increased in the same period. In
2003 daily distribution was 6.2 million. This figure includes a wide range of
publications. According to the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies there are
142 proper newspapers.
According to Zaffar Abbas, editor
of the English newspaper, Dawn, the overall circulation of newspapers today is
around four million.
Print media publishes in 11
languages with Urdu and Sindhi as largest language groups. English-language
publications are not as numerous. Urdu newspapers are the dominant media in the
rural areas.
2. The Statistical Department of Pakistan admitted that there were
1,464 newspapers in all languages published in four provinces (Sindh, Punjab,
NWFP and Balochistan- 2008) According to the trivia book the surveys of UNESCO,
it defines Pakistan at 10th number in the world regarding
circulation of the newspapers (78,17,958- December 2, 2010)
Visual Media
But the TV sector remains
vibrant. In total Pakistan
has 49 TV channels of which 15 are news channels, 32 primarily entertainment
and two religious. The three media conglomerates are also have their own TV
channels, but newcomers such as ARY TV and Ajj TV have challenged their
dominating status. The Haroon group however still owns the 24-hour English news
channel Dawn News that is popular among the urban elite. Geo TV, owned by the
Independent Media Corporation, is affiliated with the Jang Group of Newspapers.
Geo News is Geo TV’s flagship.2.
The number of television channels grew from two or three
state-run stations in 2000 to over 50 privately owned channels in 2008. About
20 channels exclusively broadcast news, with only two of them in English (Dawn
and Express). There are about five religious channels, which produce programmes
related to Islam, but which also deal with social issues.
Govt V/s Press
One of the first measures taken by General Ayub Khan,
after the declaration of martial law in 1958, was the establishment of the
Bureau of National Research and Reconstruction (BNR&R), which later became
the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Following an approach to the
media that still seems to exist, the BNR&R embarked on a campaign of hiring
‘journalists who were well known and willing to lend their names to
commentaries that were published in national newspapers in support of
government policies’.18.
In 1960, the military government also introduced a
draconian Press and Publication Ordinance that was renewed periodically by both
military and civilian regimes to exert control over the news media, holding not
only editors and publishers, but also printers and distributors liable for
punishment if they printed anything counter to the government’s views’. 14.
The same misfortunes that are still evident today began to affect the media landscape
in Pakistan
in the brief democratic interlude that followed partition and that was
concluded by the rise to power of General Ayub Khan. During that decade, it is
possible to trace the abandonment of the original ideological basis on which
the Pakistani media had been created in favor of a drift towards political
opportunism and harsh competition for the capture of the establishment’s
attention and favours. That period also saw the emergence of a new kind of
journalism that was driven by factors other than coherence to political and
professional principles. 19.
In certain cases, when news media did not comply with the
directives imparted by the military administration, they were simply taken
over, as happened to publishing house Progressive Papers Limited (PPL) and to
the newspapers that it owned: ‘The Pakistan Times’, ‘Imroze’ and the
weekly ‘Lailo Nahar’. Because of suspicions that their editors had socialist
leanings, in 1959 the government of Ayub Khan, under the cover of the Pakistan
Security Act,11 moved to change the management of these newspapers in
order to prevent them from publishing material that could allegedly ‘endanger
the defence, external affairs or security of Pakistan’.11. In 1964 the takeover of
PPL was eventually completed by transforming it into the National Press Trust
(NPT). Journalists working for this new media group, which, along the way,
acquired nine other newspapers, proved their value as staunch supporters of
military action through successive military regimes. In fact, when General
Yahya Khan took over from his predecessor in 1969, they welcomed the appearance
of martial law and its related emergency actions. 20.
The government not only sought to
liberalise the electronic media on it own terms, but also wanted to control and
use the media as a tool to strengthen national interests, is also evident from
the way that the public advisement budget is allocated. PTV receives 70 percent
of the budget 2. the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had previously committed
itself to its dissolution, when a civilian government came to power in 1972, it
simply prolonged the tradition of taking over control of the NPT. Under the
false premise that the newspapers belonging to it had to be retained and
returned to the collective domain, through them, the new political masters
launched a shameless ‘campaign of slander and character assassination against
those who dared to criticise any action of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
or his henchmen’.21. Ironically, the story repeated itself with the 1977
military coup of General Zia ul-Haq. The same newspapers simply continued their
mission as mouthpieces of the ruler of the day and in a seemingly effortless
shift, probably born out of habit and survival instinct, they turned against
Bhutto and his party. 22.
According to Mir Shakilur Rehman, Publisher and
Editor-in-Chief of the Jang Group of Publications, he was directed by two
senior officials close to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to dismiss 16 journalists
on his rolls. Mr. Rehman was told that "nothing adverse should be written
concerning their (the Sharif's) loans, business, personal matters etc,"
Apart from the raids on ‘The News’ offices during Nawaz sharif government in
October 1998, plainclothes officials landed up at the office of the Karachi-based
monthly ‘Newsline’ demanding the home phone numbers and addresses of its
correspondents. 23.
Censorship during the Zia years
was direct, concrete and dictatorial. Newspapers were scrutinised; critical or
undesired sections of an article censored. After sudden death of Zia Haq media
was wedded with democracy.
From 2002, media faced a decisive
development under the umbrella of General Musharraf. New liberal media laws
broke the state’s monopoly on electronic media. TV broadcasting and FM radio
licenses were issued to private media outlets. Media became an important actor
in the process that led to the fall of Musharraf and his regime. 2.
STATUS OF PRESS FREEDOM IN PAKISTAN
Adnan and Matiullah (2005) argue that freedom of
press in Pakistan
shrunken in both print and electronic media during Pervez Musharraf regime by
intimidating and harassing journalists. The press was barred from covering
opposition, public events, corruption and abuses of power by the public
servants and tribal areas where military was engaged in operations against
terrorists. There were censorships, press advice, issuance of government's
advertisement to favorite media organizations, forcing off opposition leader's
interview on a private television channel, dozens of reporters were beaten and
arrested during the tussle between the President's election and the Supreme
Court (Adnan and Matiullah, 2005). 24.
Geo News has been criticised by the government for
exaggerations and misrepresentations of facts. Numerous times, the station has
been subjected to bans and shut downs. When President and Army Chief Musharraf
imposed a sweeping ‘state of emergency’ / quasi martial law on 3rd November
2007, Geo TV Network received an order from local authorities of Dubai on November 16 to
cut off all their Live broadcasts. After emergency some drastic consequences
came up for the Pak Media. Like major crackdown on civil society actors
journalists (more than 20 arrested and about 60 injured). Non-governmental
radio ‘de facto’ was banned. Two current affairs FM stations were
sealed, their staff were assaulted and their broadcast equipment taken away.
Other FM stations were warned against broadcasting any news bulletins or
broadcasting emergency-related information. Apart from that Non-governmental
satellite TV channels prevented from up-linking to satellite and banned from
carriage on domestic cable networks (the source through which most Pakistanis have
access to independent TV news): 35 Pakistani channels taken off air including a
dozen popular 24/7 current affairs channels such as ARY TV and DawnNews TV. 25. Geo TV was also banned for showing any
programmes with Geo News’ popular anchors Dr. Shahid Masood and Hamid Mir.
Describing it as the "gravest errors of
judgment," other Pakistani dailies remarked Musharraf's emergency state
and media restrictions were bound only to "fracture an already weakened
nation." According to a Press Trust of India report,
police and information department personnel raided the premises of Urdu
newspaper ‘Awam’ after they suspected that the paper planned to publish a
special supplement on the state of emergency. They reportedly found no
evidence, however, of such a supplement. In another incident, according to a ‘Dawn’
report,
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) officials raided Aaj TV
channel's office in Islamabad
and seized broadcast equipment without proof of legal orders. 26.
In 2009 Pakistani lawyers had called for a “Long March” to
force the reinstatement of Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry. 2.
At this point President Ali Asif Zardari and PPP-led Pakistani government
followed Musharraf’s steps and Geo News was taken off-air in the evening in
many major cities of Pakistan.
PEMRA issued warning to channels
for violating its rules and went to the [extend] of accusing them of inciting
violence.” Hamid Mir, a senior anchor and Executive Editor of GEO television,
whose program `Capital Talk' was forcibly shut down said “it was an attempt to
sabotage the struggle and movement of the press against black laws. With regard
to the issue of commercial interests and their influence in the Pakistani media
landscape, advertisements certainly play an important role. Within that
landscape, the state occupies an important position, with a 25 percent stake in
the advertisement budgets of the regional press. Thus, regional newspapers have
at times faced pressures from this “advertising monopoly”, which has a budget
of about US$20 million per annum. The consequence of this phenomenon is that
the government uses this mammoth advertising budget to impose conditions on the
regional newspapers’ publication policies.27.
Media
Liberalisation Drive
Musharraf had apparently decided, through PEMRA, to launch
a wide liberalisation drive of the electronic media sector that in a few years
would completely revolutionise the Pakistani media landscape. The state’s monopoly
on electronic media was removed, allowing for a mushrooming of private
operators. In 2000 there were three state run channels in Pakistan, while
by 2008 there were over 50 privately owned channels.28. Most analysts agree that
the main trigger behind this daring initiative by President Musharraf was the
perception that Pakistan, besides confronting its fierce enemy India in
military terms, was also engaged in a media war with it, and that it was losing
this war. By the late 1990s Pakistan
was open territory for the many Hindi channels that had become available across
the border through satellite technology.
Other analysts prefer to separate the electronic media
liberalisation drive from a pure counter-propaganda discourse. They rather
emphasise the pre-existent liberalisation of the telecommunication market as
the back door that was inadvertently opened by the Pakistani state, and through
which media operators subsequently managed to unhinge the state monopoly on the
sector. The market forces unleashed by globalisation, technological innovations
in the field of media, a boom in electronic communication technology and
people’s increased awareness and access to information through mobile phones
and internet had all worked as catalysts in the process of electronic media
liberalisation. 29.
To understand the impact of this process, it is relevant
to note that, when a ban was put on electronic media following the imposition
of the state of emergency on 3rd November 2007, people were still
able to communicate freely through mobile phone, SMS and internet. Live
telecasts of some television channels were still available on the web,
providing viewers with an alternative to cable-TV distribution networks.30.
Some media activists argue that the print media had already
started to become more liberal and vibrant after the removal of the PPO in the
late 1980s. Newspapers became more critical of the rulers’ corruption, and this
assertive approach is considered key to the dismissal of successive democratic
governments between 1988 and 1993. At the same time, credit also needs to go to
the journalist community’s long struggle for media freedom and liberalisation.31.
Recently the Minister for
Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan assured that the government
firmly believed in bestowing full freedom to the media,
and announced that steps had recently been taken in this regard. He
quoted that "It has always supported freedom of expression, and
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto remained a strong supporter of a free media
and freedom of speech she held”. The information minister claimed that the
PPP-led government desired to see a strong and empowered media, and said that
her party has been accredited with the lifting of various
restrictions on the media imposed by previous dictatorial regimes. 32.
Following the same President Asif Ali Zardari
declared in Islamabad
that the government and the Pakistan Peoples Party were committed to upholding
freedom of the media and a cursory glance at the state of the media today would
endorse the claim of the government. He said this in a statement issued on May
2, 2012 to mark the Press Freedom Day. He claimed that the PPP has always
supported media freedom and liberalization of media in Pakistan owed a great
deal to the struggle of the journalists and support given to it by the PPP,
whether in government or in opposition. 33.
Threat to Journalist in Pakistan
Green Press Report (2006)
highlights working in Pakistan
as an independent journalist is difficult and dangerous. The deplorable press
freedom condition can be noticed from the facts that Daniel Pearl, Wall Street
Journalist was murdered, force was used against journalists who were beaten and
injured in the protest for restoration of Judiciary, popular private TV
channels were banned during the Emergency in November 2007 and PAMRA used every
means to cease criticism against government's policies on political issues and
fight against terrorism. 34.
Pakistan
was ranked number one in the world in the statistics of journalists killed in
2009. Up to April 2009 six journalists were killed, and in May 2009 a seventh
journalist disappeared after he had received threats. This follows a period of
increased violence during the last days of the military regime. In the year
from May 2007 to May 2008 fifteen journalists were killed, 357 were arrested,
123 sustained injuries in physical assaults, 154 were harassed while there were
18 cases of attacks and ransacking of media properties and 88 cases of various
gag orders issued by the government.35. In 2008 twelve journalists were killed,
and at least 74 journalists sustained serious or minor injuries in 41 cases of
assault or injury.36.
According to Inter-News, a training and monitoring group,
there were 163 attacks during 2007, with at least 7 journalists killed and 100
abducted (most were released after a short period of time). Those killed during
the year included Zubair Ahmed Mujahid, a Sindh correspondent for the Jang
daily, in November 2007; Ahmed Solangi, who was ambushed and shot as he was
distributing newspapers in June; and Noor Hakim, who was killed in the tribal
areas, also in June. In a chilling trend, family members of journalists also
continue to be targeted. The widow of slain journalist Hayatullah Khan was
murdered in November 2007, while militants killed four members of the family of
Din Muhammad, a journalist based in the northwestern Waziristan
region, in March. In addition, the 14 year-old son of Shakil Ahmad Turabi,
editor-in-chief of the South Asian News Agency (SANA), was beaten, probably by
plainclothes police, as a warning to his father.
For
example in 2007 the Islamabad
offices of Geo TV were raided by police in March and Aaj TV's Karachi office
was subject to a four-hour siege by pro-government political activists in May.
Also in May, bullets were found planted on three cars belonging to journalists
at the Karachi Press Club. Unions such as Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists
(PFUJ) and its affiliates who held demonstrations in order to protest against
the treatment of the media were assaulted and arrested, and its leaders faced
threats.
. Media remains much more tightly restricted in Pakistani
occupied Kashmir, where publications need
special permission from the regional government to operate, and
pro-independence publications are unlikely to be given permission to publish.
.
Restrictions on the ownership of broadcast media were eased in late 2002, and
media cross-ownership was allowed in July 2003. Private radio stations operate
in some major cities but are prohibited from broadcasting news programming. Both
state-level and national authorities use advertising boycotts to put economic
pressure on media outlets that do not heed unofficial directives on coverage.
Throughout 2007, the Dawn Group, which had refused to accede to an official
request for a news blackout on coverage of Baluchistan and the tribal areas,
was targeted as the federal government cut nearly two thirds of its
advertisements and withheld awarding a television broadcast license to the
group. Similar though less drastic cuts targeted a number of other media organizations.
In addition, the broadcast ban imposed in November exacted a severe financial
toll on private television stations, with many losing significant advertising
revenues. 15.
The attack on a
journalist in Pakistan has taken place against ‘Dawn’ journalist Azaz Syed
(2011). Protesting this incident the journalist walked out from the coverage of
the National Assembly. President Zardari said that “government
believes in freedom of the media and is committed to strengthening democracy in
the country. Let’s hope that he follows through on this pledge by
making a full inquiry into this incident and seeing that any attackers are
brought to justice. In order for media to be truly free, it must be free from
threats and harassment”. 37.
But the promising statements didn’t worked longer
and the South-East Asia bureau chief of Asia Times Online and Italian news
agency Adnkrnos International, AKI’s correspondent Saleem Shahzad was abducted
by unidentified people a day after he wrote a piece claiming that the militant
attack on a naval base in Karachi was orchestrated with the help of radical
elements within the Pakistan Navy. The next day, his body was found on the
roadside of a remote village. He had been tortured to death. 38. He
was the fifth journalist killed in Pakistan the year 2011. Preceding
his death the profession has also lost Ilyas Nizzar (Darwanth), Zaman Ibrahim
(Daily Extra News), Wali Khan Babr (Geo) and Nasrullah Khan Afridi (PTV). According
to the findings 16 journalists were killed in 2011. Listing these incidents, Pakistan was
declared most dangerous country in the world for journalists. 39. Conditions
for reporters covering the ongoing conflict in the Federally Administrated
Tribal Areas (FATA) and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formally the North West frontier)
remain difficult.
The 10th annual International Federation
of Journalist (IFJ) Press Freedom Report for South Asia stated that the year
2011-12 in Pakistan
continued to be one of serious hazard. “Within this frontline state in a global
conflict, the combatant parties are many and norms of accountability and
international humanitarian law are dishonored by all. Journalists in Pakistan have
to steer a perilous course between these hostile elements,” the report said.
One journalist has been killed in the line of duty in Pakistan during
the first four months of 2012, while four journalists received life threats,
said ‘Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2012’ issued by Pakistan Press Foundation
(PPF) (02/05/2012). The report said during these four months a TV channel’s
office was attacked, newspaper copies of same media group torched and
transmission of Urdu language news channels was blocked. 40.
Referring the threat an editorial of News International
published the report of UNESCO in which Pakistan
was ranked as the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists
after Mexico.
41.
NOTES
In a country like Pakistan where
the public perceives little accountability towards the country’s rulers, the
fledgling broadcast media has assumed a position as a surrogate accountability
system, regularly reporting on corruption scandals or other crimes committed by
the powers-that-be. It is commonly perceived that the security threats to
journalists stem from working in conflict zones. Whereas the Community to Protect
Journalist, CPJ statistics have revealed that 53 percent of them were covering
political beats, mostly in metropolitan areas. 38.
While journalists and their bodies have been struggling
hard to win media liberties and rights, they have not sufficiently focused on
improving their professionalism and the quality of journalism. The number of
journalists in Pakistan
shot up from an estimated 2,000 in 2002 to over 10,000 in 2010. Concurrently,
their average age dropped from 43 to 27 years. 42. External threats to media
representatives come from both state and non-state actors trying to limit
others’ points of view. These threats are not virtual but real. The report
says, Punjab was the most dangerous place to
practice journalism, with 81 of the 247 cases of violations against the media.
Media activist Mazhar Abbas is of the view that it is more difficult to deal
with non-state actors. State agencies, he argues, in principle have to operate
within a legal framework and the government can be held accountable if laws or
human rights are allegedly violated. 43.
According to Amir Zia, Editor The
News Karachi, the press in Pakistan
today enjoys much more freedom compared to the repressive decades of the ‘60s,
‘70s and ‘80s. The credit for this freedom goes not only to the struggle of
senior journalists who braved lashes and prisons, but also to the technological
revolution that has made it difficult for the state to muzzle the press. 44.
Data’s of Journalist killed in Pakistan ( 1992- 2011)
Year
Motive Confirmed Motive
Unconfirmed
1992 44 11
1993 56 16
1994 66 18
1995 51 10
1996 26 08
1997 26 09
1998 24 13
1999 36 17
2000 24 21
2001 37 17
2002 21 14
2003 42 11
2004 60 15
2005 48 11
2006 57 29
2007 69 21
2008 42 24
2009 72 24
2010 44 31
2011 11 03 (Till
May 2011)
. .
Total = 856 323 Grand Total = 1,179
45. Source:
Committee to Protect Journalist ( http://cpj.org/killed/ )
REFERENCES
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2.. BETWEEN
RADICALISATION AND DEMOCRATISATION IN AN UNFOLDING CONFLICT - Media in Pakistan
International Media Support July
2009 www.i-m-s.dk
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controversial yet essential relationship
October 2010 Marco Mezzera & Safdar Sial www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu
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democratisation in an unfolding conflict: Media in Pakistan.Denmark: IMS.
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5. See ATV’s website at http://www.atv.com.pk/
6. A reported case of ATV
7. Think, among others, of the 1923 ‘Official
Secrets Act’.
8.
Media and Governance in Pakistan:
A controversial yet essential relationship
October 2010 Marco Mezzera & Safdar Sial - www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu
9 Zamir Niazi, however, terms the BNR&R the Bureau of National
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Information. (Z. Niazi (1986). The press in chains. Karachi: Royal Book Company. p.99.)
10. The Printing Presses and Publications Ordinance. (Pakistan)
11. Critical Analysis of Press Freedom in Pakistan - Syed Abdul Siraj (Ph-D)
12.
International Media Support (IMS) (2009). Between
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p.18.
13. Article 159, Chapter 3, Part V (dealing with the relations
between the federation and the provinces) mentions the possibility of the
Provincial Government being entrusted with broadcasting and telecasting
functions, though in principle these functions are limited essentially to the
construction and financial management of transmitters and receiving apparatuses
14. PAKISTAN: Media
bashes Musharraf's emergency rules. President
Pervez Musharraf shuts down private television stations, restricts news coverage,
increases penalties By-Natasha.Garyali -Monday, November 5, 2007 - www.asiamedia.ucla.edu Asia Media
Contributing Writer
15. Freedom House, Freedom of the Press 2008 - Pakistan, 29 April
2008, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4871f6241e.html
16. A. Rehmat (2008). Murder and mayhem: The worst year ever for
Pakistani media (Annual State of Pakistan
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http://www.internews.org.pk/mediareports/2007-08%20 %20State%20of%20Media%20in%20
Pakistan%20-%20Annual%20Report.pdf.
17. A. Rehmat (2008). Op. cit. p.9…… Ibid.
18. S. Nawaz (2008). Crossed swords: Pakistan, its army, and the wars
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The press in chains. Karachi:
Royal Book Company. p.111.)
19..
S. Nawaz (2008). Op. cit.
p.174.
20. It appears that, just two days before the
government moved in to take over the ownership of the PPL group, an amendment
had been introduced to the Pakistan Security Act, through a presidential
ordinance. The amendment provided the acting government with the precise power
to ‘change the management of newspapers – INSTEAD OF BANNING THEM OUTRIGHT –
which, in the opinion of the Government, published or contained matters likely
to endanger the defence, external affairs or security of Pakistan’. (Z. Niazi
(1986). Op. cit. p.82.)
21. Z. Niazi (1986). Op. cit. p.91.
22. M. Barna. Viewpoint, 24th November
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23. Journalism in Pakistan,
by Abid Ullah Jan - www.cssforum.com.pk
24. Adnan, R. and Matiullah J. (2005). Media in Pakistan : Growing Space, Shrinking Freedoms,
Annual Report on State of Media Freedom in Pakistan
. Derived on December 25, 2007 from http://www.internews.org/pubs/pakistan/
Media Freedoms Pakistan
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moitoringnov2007.
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28. In the fiscal year 2008–09, according to
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total amount of conferred licences since the establishment of PEMRA to 71. For
more information, see chapter 14 of the survey, entitled ‘Transport and communication’,
p.16. http://www.finance.gov.pk/admin/ images/survey/chapters/14-Transport09.pdf.
29.
Interview, Prof. Javed
Kasuri and Dr Zafar, Department of Mass Communication at International Islamic
University, Islamabad, 22nd January 2010.
Media and Governance in Pakistan:
A controversial yet essential relationship
October 2010 Marco Mezzera & Safdar Sial - www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu
30. Interview, Zahid Hussain, Islamabad,
20th January 2010 -Media and Governance in Pakistan: A controversial yet
essential relationship October 2010Marco
Mezzera & Safdar Sial - www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu
31.
Interview, Mazhar Abbas, former
secretary-general of the PFUJ, and deputy news director for ARY One World TV,
Islamabad, 23rd January 2010. Media and
Governance in Pakistan:
A controversial yet essential relationship
October 2010 Marco Mezzera & Safdar Sial www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu
32- Govt committed to upholding democracy, empowering media 14 March,
2012 - http://paktribune.com/news/Govt-committed-to-upholding-democracy-empowering-media-248276.html
33- Media Coverage MAY 03, 2012 http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/index.php?lang=en&opc=3&sel=3&id=1193
34. Green Press Report (2006) Press in Pakistan
Derived from http://www.google.co.uk/search?
hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_en-GBPK258PK258&q=Green+Press+Report + (2006)+ Pakistan &start=10&sa=N
Sohail Iqbal (2007) documents comments of various media experts on the Dec. 11
PEMRA's ordinance.
35. Intermedia, Annual State of Pakistan Media Report 2007-08.
36. Intermedia, Report 2008: http://intermedia.
org.pk/Media%20in%20 Pakistan%202008-pr.pdf
37. House of Dawn Journalist Attacked Tuesday, Jan 19th, 2010 = http://pakistanmediawatch.com/tag/threats-to-journalists/
38.- Pakistan Media Under Fire (Posted 24/12/2011) by Usman Zafar-
http://crisisproject.org/pakistan-media-under-fire/
40. Perilous
profession: Deaths, threats mar(k) Press Freedom Day- Published: May 3, 2012 http://tribune.com.pk/story/373302/perilous-profession-deaths-threats-mark-press-freedom-day/
41.- Pak media slams govt. after being named 2nd most dangerous
nation for journos - May 4, 2012 #Media #NewsTracker #Pakistan #United Nations http://www.firstpost.com/world/pak-media-slams-govt-after-being-named-2nd-most-dangerous-nation-for-journos-298195.html
39. Remembering a Colleague Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 =
http://pakistanmediawatch.com/tag/threats-to-journalists/
42. S. I. Ashraf. ‘Genie out of the bottle’, Dawn, Islamabad,
16th March 2010.
43.
Interview, Mazhar Abbas, Islamabad, 23rd January 2010. Media and
Governance in Pakistan:
A controversial yet essential relationship
October 2010 Marco Mezzera & Safdar Sial www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu
44.Press freedom termed a litmus test of democracy’ by Anil.Datta-
Friday, May 04,2012 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-106397-Press-freedom-termed-a-litmus-test-of-democracy
45. Data of Journalist
Killed in Pakistan, Source: Committee to Protect
Journalist ( http://cpj.org/killed/
