Pakistan has, despite enacting legislation to protect journalists, failed to effectively address the rising impunity for crimes against journalists, as revealed in Freedom Network’s Annual Impunity 2023 report released on Sunday.
The report, titled “One step forward, two steps back – Pakistan legislates on the safety of journalists, but still fails to protect them,” was issued ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, observed on November 2.
Despite the introduction of safety laws for journalists in late 2021 by both the Sindh and federal governments, Pakistan has witnessed a concerning increase in the persecution of journalists over the two years following the legislation. The persecution, particularly by government authorities and state agencies, includes incidents such as kidnappings, physical assaults, and the filing of serious legal cases against journalists, often on unproven charges of sedition, treason, and electronic crimes.
The “Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act-2021” and the “Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act-2021” were enacted by the Sindh Assembly and the National Assembly, respectively, within a few months.
The report emphasizes that Pakistan has not effectively utilized the legal tools created to combat the increasing impunity against journalists, even though these laws have been in place for two years. It further highlights that a significant percentage of violations (37.5%, or 93 out of a total of 248 cases) occurred in Islamabad. Sindh, as the second-worst affected region, accounted for 22.5% of the violations (56 cases).
Tragically, the report also notes that 11 journalists lost their lives or were killed in the line of duty during the same period. Pakistan’s position in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index improved from 157th out of 180 countries in 2021 to 150th in 2023 due to the introduction of these laws. However, the report underscores the need for fully operationalizing these laws to provide adequate protection to journalists.
Iqbal Khattak, the Executive Director of Freedom Network, expressed concern over the report’s findings, stating that both the federal and Sindh governments were responsible for not effectively implementing their own laws, thereby delaying and effectively denying justice to journalists.
The report further highlights that the federal Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, passed during Imran Khan’s tenure, and the Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act have not been fully operationalized. The safety commissions mandated by these laws have not been established, hindering their ability to protect journalists effectively.
Recommendations
The report concludes with three recommendations: the urgent establishment of a safety commission under the federal Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, adequate resourcing, including budget, office, and staff, for Sindh’s commission, and the enactment of similar journalists’ safety laws in Balochistan, KP, and Punjab following the 2024 provincial elections. The report stresses that Pakistan has a valuable opportunity to combat impunity against crimes targeting journalists effectively, provided these recommendations are implemented promptly.
