96 % of Unresolved Journalist Killings Continue to Plague Pakistan: Report

Wraa Noor Haider

Islamabad: As many as 53 Pakistani journalists were killed in the country between 2012 and 2022, but the perpetrators were convicted in only two cases,  according to Freedom Network’s Annual Impunity 2022 report released on 27 October.

The highest number of killing took place in 2014 when 13 journalists were murdered. During the time in question, there were about five media professionals killed annually on average. The print media is the hardest hit, with 31 of the murdered journalists working for newspapers, 23 for electronic media, four for digital media, and two for radio.

53 Pakistani journalists were killed in the country between 2012 and 2022, but the perpetrators were convicted in only two cases

“The most recent murder of threatened journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya serves as a reminder of how powerful criminals and oppressors of press freedom are becoming. This open-ended impunity for crimes against journalists and media in Pakistan is adopting an ugliest shape,” Freedom Network Executive Director Iqbal Khattak reacted to the report findings.

The report stated that “due to poor investigation, the police fail to produce challans in many cases, killing the chances of justice at an early stage of the legal system” and “due to the poor quality of prosecution, most cases never complete proceeding through the court trial process.”

Print media is the hardest hit, with 31 of the murdered journalists working for newspapers, 23 for electronic media, 4 for digital media, and 2 for radio

According to Mr.Khattak, despite Pakistan’s federal and provincial laws focusing only on ensuring the protection of journalists, the journalists are still in danger.

The research is based on information gathered from the deceased journalists’ families, as well as from their news colleagues, local press clubs, and journalist unions.

In 96 per cent of journalists’ murder cases in Pakistan between 2012 and 2022, there have been no convictions, according to Freedom Network’s Annual Impunity 2022 report released on 27 October. The criminal justice system utterly failed to provide justice for the murdered journalists and their grieving families.

Prior to the 2^ndNovember “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists”, a report titled “The Killing Fields: No Justice for Pakistan’s Murdered Journalists” was released.

The killers of almost a third of the murdered journalists remain unidentified

The Freedom Network study was set against the backdrop of the 2012 United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which Pakistan first endorsed in October 2013 and later committed to implementing in the federal Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021. This year marks the Plan of Action’s ten-year anniversary.

Recent killing of under-threat journalist

Arshad Sharif, a senior journalist and anchor-person for ARY News, was fatally shot by law enforcement on October 24 in Kenya as he was supposedly hiding out after getting death threats for his critical reporting. Mr.Sharif was fatally shot by police as he was travelling to Nairobi, Kenya, according to the Kenyan police reports.

Most recent murder of threatened journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya serves as a reminder of how powerful criminals and oppressors of press freedom are becoming: FN Executive Director Iqbal Khattak 

Officers from the paramilitary division of the Kenya Police Service opened fire on the vehicle after Sharif and his brother allegedly drove over a security roadblock. The journalist community has demanded the authorities to conduct a transparent and comprehensive investigation to unravel the motive of the shootout. It remains to be seen if this time Arshad Sharif’s killing will become an exception to the rule and its perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Report’s Key Findings 

Of the 53 journalists murdered for their work in Pakistan in the period between 2012 and 2022, the highest fatalities were in Sindh (16, or 30% of the total) followed by Punjab (14, or 26% of the total).

Unidentified persons constituted the biggest suspected threat with 15 of the 53 journalists (or 28%) murdered in the reporting period being targeted by them. Around two-thirds of the journalists were targeted by non-state actors such as militant groups, criminal gangs, local influential and functionaries of political parties.

More than half of the journalists apparently did not inform their media employers, press club, union or local authorities about any threats; and those who shared such threats constitute less than 10 percent. The system and the relevant stakeholders failed to stop killings even when forewarning was provided. The media organizations or journalist bodies never became the first party to the process of pursuing justice for their slain workers.