New York: The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the release of young Pakistani freelance journalist Zeenat Shahzadi, who had been missing since August 2015. Shahzadi was the first female journalist in the country to be reportedly abducted.
Before the August 2015 abduction, she was detained by security agencies earlier in the same year for interrogations regarding her reporting.
On Shahzadi’s release, the authorities stated that she was recovered from the custody of non-state actors, near the border of Afghanistan. “We acknowledge this is good news for journalist safety and is rare coming from Pakistan, where journalists in general and women journalists in particular are targeted notoriously for their work,” said Kiran Nazish, the co-founder and the director of the Coalition For Women In Journalism. “That Shahzadi has been released now after more than two years reveals the Pakistani state’s efforts that guaranteed her safety. We appreciate that. But we also demand some answers. We want the Pakistani state to vividly describe the process of Shahzadi’s release and to clearly name the perpetrators who released her. This is important so we can find clarity about the sources of these threats that journalists continue to face in the country.”
Shahzadi was abducted in precarious circumstances, and much of our investigation over one year has led us to believe that her abduction was carried out by individuals linked with state agencies. And after Shahzadi’s release, we have been restrained from being able to see her in person, or achieve any clear details from the authorities that claim to have helped in her release. The answers to these questions are extremely critical for journalist safety, especially that of women journalists who are often targeted psychologically, sexually and physically by their perpetrators.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism has closely followed the case since Shahzadi’s abduction was reported by the BBC by our team member Saba Eitizaz, who herself faced serious threats after the reporting on Shahzadi’s abduction. We will continue to follow the wellbeing of Zeenat Shahzadi’s mental and physical health, as long as she needs.
Nosheen Abbas, the manager of the Pakistan Chapter, said, “With due respect for her privacy as this case affects all journalists the present situation is unsatisfactory in terms of transparency and accountability. This is especially important to us in Pakistan given the history of threats and disappearances of journalists in the country.”
Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2017.
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