WORLD NEWS | Islamabad is most dangerous place for Pakistani journalism: Report

Islamabad [Pakistan]May 1 (ANI): Islamabad is the riskiest place to practice journalism in Pakistan as 56 violations, or 40 per cent, have occurred in the city in the past year, the annual Pakistan Press Freedom Report compiled by media rights watchdog Freedom Network showed. , Dawn reported.

According to the report, Pakistan has reported at least 140 threats and attacks against journalists, media professionals and media organizations in the past year, representing an annual growth rate of more than 60%.

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Punjab was the second worst with 35 (25%) non-compliance cases, followed by Sindh with 32 (23%) cases.

Released ahead of World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated on May 3, the report noted that the country’s media environment has become more dangerous and violent in recent months, as the number of attacks rose by 20% between May 2022 and March 2023. A 63% jump from 86 to 140 in 2021-22, according to Dawn.

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The report also documented the killing of at least five journalists in Pakistan during the review period.

“The escalation in violence against journalists is disturbing and requires urgent attention,” said Iqbal Khattak, executive director of the Freedom Network.

Khattak tracks press freedom violations throughout the year and publishes an annual report.

“Attacks on independent journalism have hampered access to essential information, which is especially damaging during ongoing political and economic crises, as the public demands reliable news to understand and respond to issues,” he said, as quoted by Dawn like that.

“It is ironic that Pakistan became the first country in Asia to legislate on journalists’ safety in 2021, but a year and a half later, federal and Sindh’s journalists’ safety laws have not helped any of the journalists, leading to violence against them Behavior increases,” Hartak said.

The Friday Times recently reported that journalists in Pakistan continue to have a difficult life as several independent journalists in the country raised concerns related to digital security.

Several journalists were asked to provide laptop and mobile phone passwords during the investigation, a violation of their privacy and source protection rights, which violated their privacy and source protection rights. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)