CPJ, partners call Pakistan’s prime minister to address alarming deterioration in press freedom

Summary

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Prime Minister, Islamic Republic of Pakistan Prime Minister's Office, Constitution Avenue, Red Zone, Islamabad, Pakistan Dear Prime Minister Sharif, We, the undersigned press freedom groups, write to express deep concern over Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating press freedom climate. In recent months, journalists in Pakistan have disappeared, faced detention and criminal investigations, been blocked from reporting in certain parts of the country, and lost jobs due to government and law enforcement agencies' pressure. These developments have further eroded the ability of Pakistani journalists to report freely and safely.

It is particularly alarming to see growing use of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA), and investigations by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against journalists for reporting on matters of public interest. In addition, authorities have introduced restrictions on reporting in Pakistanadministered Kashmir, imposed internet and telecommunications blackouts, taken regulatory action against broadcasters, and imposed draconian new guidelines requiring journalists working for international media outlets to obtain authorization before reporting outside the three main cities. Tahir and Saif, independent journalists who publish through Tahir’s popular social media channels, were seized and taken to an undisclosed location on August 1.

Islamabad police have not acknowledged the journalists’ detention and their whereabouts remain unknown. The circumstances of their disappearance raise serious dueprocess concerns and authorities must ensure the journalists have access to legal counsel and contact with their families. The government should conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances of their disappearance, hold to account all those responsible for unlawful detentions, and ensure all journalists’ rights to due process are respected.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s draconian new guidelines require international and Pakistani journalists who contribute to foreign news outlets, including social media and web-based platforms, to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) for “official assignments, especially for work outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Authorities can suspend journalists’ accreditation or the accreditation for media outlets for acts deemed contrary to Pakistan’s “ideology, sovereignty, security, or public order,” the guidelines say. On June 5, the NCCIA arrested journalist Sohrab Barkat over a YouTube report about protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and registered a case against him under PECA, alleging he had disseminated false information.

The government has interfered with Pakistan’s news media in other ways, including suspending on June 28 the broadcast license of Geo News, one of Pakistan’s largest Urdu-language news channels, for 15 days for broadcasting “religious visualization” that it deemed could offend religious sentiments and disturb public order.

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