Over 60 journalists, editors, columnists, media persons and media freedom organisation representatives in Pakistan have expressed serious concern and condemned the ongoing curbs on freedom of expression in the country.
The signatories include veteran journalists Muhammad Ziaudin and columnists and rights activists I.A. Rahman and Hussain Naqi as well as editors of daily publications, including Raza Rumi of Daily Times, and of weeklies, including Farah Zia of The News on Sunday. Other prominent signatories included TV anchors Hamid Mir, Asma Shirazi, and Nusrat Javed.
The signatories have condemned the ongoing curbs on freedom of expression in Pakistan. “Beginning with a crackdown against select media groups and banning the broadcast of various channels, there now is enhanced pressure on all media houses to refrain from covering certain rights based movements,” the statement says, adding that media house managements under pressure are dropping regular op-ed columns and removing online editions of published articles. “One media house even asked its anchors to stop live shows. There is growing self censorship and increasingly, discussions on ‘given news’ rather than real news, violating the citizens’ right to information.”
The statement notes that these examples represent a fraction of the kind of censorship taking place across the country in different ways. “We strongly protest against all forms of censorship imposed on free media and freedom of information and stand united against it.”
Published in Daily Times, April 19th 2018.
