Pakistan / Asia

Pakistan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release senior journalist Matiullah Jan and stop harassing him for his journalistic work, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Thursday.  “CPJ is dismayed by the arrest of Pakistani journalist Matiullah Jan following his coverage of protests in Islamabad,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The Pakistani…

New York, November 27, 2024—Unidentified shooters opened fire on civilian vehicles, killing at least 42 people, including Janan Hussain, a journalist for the independent digital outlet 365 News and general secretary of the Parachinar Press Club, on November 20 in the Ochut area of Kurram district in northern Pakistan. “The tragic killing of Janan Hussain…

Hope for justice in journalist murders is dim across the world, but especially in Pakistan, which has appeared on CPJ’s Global Impunity Index every year since the list’s inception in 2008. This year, the South Asian country ranks twelfth out of the 13 worst offenders. CPJ’s impunity index lists countries where perpetrators who kill journalists…

New York, October 10, 2024—Pakistani authorities ordered a raid of the home and a 30-day detention of journalist Ihsan Naseem on Sunday, October 6, in Battagram district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on accusations of endangering public safety and encouraging members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) to protest. “The detention of journalist Ihsan Naseem…

New York, September 13, 2024—Pakistani authorities must immediately investigate the killings of Awaz TV reporter Muhammad Bachal Ghunio and International News Agency reporter Nisar Lehri and ensure an end to the intensifying wave of violence against journalists in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “Pakistani authorities must immediately bring the perpetrators of…

New York, August 7, 2024—Pakistani police have raided the home of digital journalist Usman Khan three times, forcing him into hiding to avoid detention for his coverage of protests over alleged human rights abuses in southwestern Baluchistan province. “Pakistani police must immediately cease their attempts to detain independent journalist Usman Khan and allow the media…

Update: Following the publication of this alert, the local press freedom group Pakistan Press Foundation and the Pakistani newspaper The News International reported that Zaib was targeted over a personal dispute. New York, July 16, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a surge in the killing of journalists in Pakistan, as the July…

Kampala, July 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Kenyan court’s Monday ruling that Kenyan authorities violated Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif’s right to life and that his death was arbitrary and unconstitutional. “CPJ welcomes the Kenyan High Court’s ruling that the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was unlawful,” said Angela Quintal, head…

New York, June 20, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the continued killing of journalists in Pakistan, including six in 2024 thus far, and calls on the country’s authorities to swiftly investigate the fatal attack on veteran journalist Khalil Jibran and hold those responsible to account. On the evening of June 18,…

New York, June 11, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm on Tuesday that Pakistan’s east Punjab province hastily enacted a defamation law that is likely to greatly restrict press freedom, and the country’s Supreme Court issued notices to 34 media outlets in connection with their programming. On Saturday, June 8, acting Punjab…