11 Pakistani Journalists Face Threats in January: FN Report

News Desk

Islamabad: As many as 11 journalists received threats in January last month, as per the Threat Data Analysis report released by Freedom Network (FN) on Monday.

The threats to journalists were received in different categories, including threat to harm, legal action, attempt to murder, and assault without injury, as per the documented report.

Islamabad-based media watchdog organisation FN has been documenting threat cases against journalists through the Pakistan Press Club Safety Hubs Network programme since 2016.

Threat to Harm

Islamabad-based Daily Ausaf and ABN News channel reporter Nadeem Chaudhry broke a story on January 11, 2024, on alleged “corruption” in the Pakistan Works Department (PWD).

The reporter contacted a senior PWD official to get the PWD version through WhatsApp messages and calls. The journalist was not provided with an official version by the official, and the report was published without official comments.

On January 26, the reporter broadcast another report about a new Islamabad High Court building in Islamabad. As the report went on-air, the official threatened the reporter with legal notice through a WhatsApp message.

The reporter submitted an application to the police. The official called the reporter twice and abused him for his investigative report.

“I am the joint secretary and jutt of Sialkot, and I would not spare you,” the reporter was threatened. “I will strangle you and drag you through the streets of Islamabad; you will not survive now.”

The reporter alerted the National Press Club and journalists’ organisations about the matter. The reporter has recorded all the evidence and filed an application with the police against the PWD official.

Threats to Legal Action

GM Lond, a local journalist from the city of Kachhu near Sehwan, was tortured by a security guard of former PPP MNA Rafiq Jamali and close associates for questioning his poor performance in Johi Tehsil of Sehwan District in Sindh province.

Journalist GM Lond said that on January 13, 2024, he was tortured for asking the former MNA about his “poor performance” in Kachhu during the previous PPP government in Sindh province. According to the reporter, even a week ago, Gaji Shah Juhi Police arrested him and threatened him with serious consequences if he broadcast news showing the poor performance of the PPP.

Attacks on the homes of journalists

ARY News channel sports anchor Shoaib Jutt was robbed by unknown persons outside his house, who snatched his mobile phone and threatened him with death.

Shoaib Jutt, a member of the Karachi Press Club and Karachi Union of Journalists, was stopped by unknown armed men near his house in Karachi on January 2, 2024.

They threatened him with “dire consequences,”  snatched his mobile phone, and fled. Shoaib Jutt filed an FIR with the Nazimabad police station. Earlier, he also received “death threats” for speaking against the “sports mafia.”.

Attempt to Murder

Unidentified motorcyclists attacked Suno News channel bureau chief Shoaib Burney on January 14 on Rashid Minhas Road in Karachi. Unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on the car of the Suno News channel’s bureau chief.

The incident happened when the journalist was travelling alone in his car. Burney sustained a bullet wound in his left hand. He was taken to the nearest hospital for medical treatment, where his condition was not in danger.

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Soon after the incident, police and security personnel rushed to the scene and began a search operation in the area.

In a video statement, the journalist said that two armed men on a motorbike followed his car and fired at him when he was driving a car on Rashid Minhas Road. “The bullet smashed the right window of the car and hit my hand,” he added.

The FB Industrial Area Police Station filed FIR No. 6/24 and began investigations to determine the identity and motive of the individuals who shot at journalists in Burney.

The FIR was filed on the complaint of the wounded journalist against unknown attackers under Sections 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Assault Without Injury

Three journalists and three cameramen were tortured during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rally in Karachi on January 28, 2024. The journalists were baton-charged to stop them from covering the political party’s election-related protest.

The PTI supporters staged a rally in the Teen Talwar area of Karachi. Journalists covering the rally were tortured by police. ARY News channel Reporter Afzal Pervez, PNN channel Reporter Salman, and Haji Salman of Aik News channel were tortured by the South Police. Cameraman Altaf Hussain got injured, whereas cameraman Mohammad Abbas of Geo News was also tortured during the rally.

DSP Defence Zulfiqar ordered police to attack journalists. He also joined his fellow cops to attack Suno News cameraman Ahmar Abbas, breaking his camera. Ahmar Abbas lost his camera, and the footage was also destroyed by the police. The police refused to return him the camera. However, after the intervention of SSP South, the DSP returned the camera, but memory cards were stolen.

Actual legal action

Police registered an FIR against Masood Ahmed Lehri, correspondent of Daily Azadi, on January 15, 2024, for covering a rally held in support of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s sit-in in the Wadh area in the Khuzdar district of Baluchistan.

The Baluchistan Union of Journalists demanded the immediate withdrawal of the FIR.

Meanwhile, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) served on January 25, 2024, notices on some 40 people, including some journalists and YouTubers. The journalists and YouTubers include Asad Ali Toor, Ms. Paras Jahanzeb, Iqrarul Hassan, Siddique Jan, Matiullah Jan, and Arif Hameed Bhatti.

The FIA notices follow a government investigation into a “malicious campaign” against the Supreme Court judges who upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan appeal against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf election symbol “bat.”

The Supreme Court stopped the FIA from proceeding against the journalist during a hearing of a case the day after the notices were served.

Threats, Attacks, and Harassment Against Various Types of Media:

Two print journalists, eight television journalists, and one internet journalist received these threats in January 2024.

Nine state actors and two unknown actors were believed to be involved in the threats these journalists faced, the assessment report reveals.

Freedom Network is also managing five safety hubs across Pakistan to monitor and document these violations and assist journalists at risk in partnership with the five press clubs in the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad, and Peshawar.