Pakistan’s journalists are no strangers to intimidation and harassment as the relationship between the state and the media in the country has always been a tense one. Threats from known and ‘unknown’ elements continue to be hurled at the journalists’ community.
The situation is at its worst as there is a system in place to ensure they are deprived of this right while the governments and state institutions appear to be the chief offenders.
Pakistani media was faced with different challenges both in terms of content and coverage as well as in the nature of the steps to restrict press freedom and the free flow of information in the country. Media in every passing moment witnessed more hostile forms of censorship being enforced to restrict the free flow of information in the country.
Journalism in Pakistan victimized by known and ‘unknown’ elements of the state in the country however, it is not possible here to tell the whole incident. I will try to recall some latest incidents against journalists and media institutions in the country.
Journalist Asad Toor assaulted in the latest attack
On 25 May, three unknown armed men assaulted a prominent journalist and YouTuber, Asad Ali Toor, after breaking into his house in Sector F-10 Islamabad, in what appears to be the latest incident of violence against press freedom in the country.
Asad Ali Toor in a statement to police said that the attack took place late on Tuesday night when he heard the doorbell of his apartment. “The attackers at the door pointed a pistol towards him and said that you should step back, said Haider Imtiaz, Toor’s lawyer and a member of the Pakistan Bar Council’s Journalist Defence Committee.
“He tried to run away but the attackers shouted that if you don’t step back we will shoot you.” Toor was dragged to his bedroom where he was bound, gagged and beaten by the attacker and two others who had come in with him, according to Toor’s statement.
“They threw me on the floor hard and told me not to make a sound or they would shoot me,” the statement says. Toor says the attackers identified themselves as belonging to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Toor said he was questioned on the sources of his income and “funding”, and was forced to shout out slogans praising Pakistan, its military, and the ISI, as well as denouncing India, northwestern neighbor Afghanistan and Israel.
Journalists protest
Later, different journalist organizations and civil society members gathered in Islamabad to hold a demonstration against the assault on journalist Asad Ali Toor on Wednesday.
At a demonstration outside the press club in the capital of Islamabad on Wednesday, dozens of people protested against the attack on Toor and called for accountability for those who have attacked journalists in the past.
Senior journalist Hamid Mir accused Pakistan’s military and other security agencies of harassing and attacking journalists, saying that the statement reflected that the government was showing no seriousness in investigating cases of violence against journalists.
Increased attack on journalists
Pakistan ranks 145 out of 180 countries on media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 World Press Freedom Index.
“The Pakistani media, which have a long tradition of being very lively, have become a priority target for the country’s ‘deep state’, a euphemism for the military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the main military intelligence agency, and the significant degree of control they exercise over the civilian executive,” says RSF of press freedom in Pakistan.
The attack on Toor is the latest in recent months to target a journalist considered to be critical of the country’s military and the government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. In July 2020, prominent television journalist Matiullah Jan was abducted by unidentified men outside a school in Islamabad and was released after being held for 12 hours at an undisclosed location. Jan said that he was bound, gagged and beaten during this period.
In April, Absar Alam, a senior journalist based in Islamabad, was shot in the abdomen while out for a walk at a park near his home. Alam survived the attack. No arrests have been made in that case, police say. Since 1992, at least 61 journalists have been killed in targeted attacks in Pakistan, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
PM Khan’s reign has seen a marked increase in threats, intimidation and outright censorship targeting the country’s press, with journalists and editors accusing they are barred from covering certain topics, especially related to the military’s increased role in governance and politics.
The attacks just condemned
Soon after the incident, government officials condemned the attacks and said that citizens always have the choice to launch a formal protest. Several ministers also appeared on air to express solidarity.
ISI disassociates itself from attacks
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has issued a statement in response to allegations levelled against the agency after the attack on journalist Asad Ali Toor. A high-level meeting on the incident was convened between the ISI and the Ministry of Information, following which a statement was released on behalf of the intelligence agency.
“The continuation of such allegations shows that the ISI is being targeted … under an organized conspiracy,” said the statement, stressing that the agency had nothing to do with the incident, adding that it was being “targeted” through fifth-generation warfare “under an organized conspiracy”.
The ISI believes that when the faces of the accused can be clearly seen on CCTV, there should be no hurdle in the investigation. The agency called for strict action against those responsible and assured its complete cooperation in the ongoing investigation into the incident. It said the Ministry of Information is in touch with Islamabad Police and hopes that the accused will be brought to justice soon.
The agency said this practice of levelling accusations against institutions without evidence should end. Such negative traditions are part of a conspiracy against the country’s institutions and the real culprits will soon be exposed.
Are visible and invisible forces still unidentified?
In fact, it has been argued that ever more sophisticated techniques of silencing dissenting voices have been taking up in recent years. With both invisible and visible interests joining forces to restrain the freedom of expression in the country.
Unfortunately, despite all facts knowing certain elements involved in attacks on journalists the constitutional shelters that present to protect freedom of speech requires to be seen more as realism than in the abstract. We must keep in mind that a journalist fearful of doing his job interprets into a society that is silenced.
It was the job of journalists to be skeptical and ferret out the truth. Journalists often saw themselves as a pillar of democracy by bringing transparency and highlighting issues and corruption to the affairs of States.
For a democratic and civilized society, the government should take immediate and appropriate steps for the protection of the lives of journalists and media organizations by ensuring press freedom in the country. Let’s hope for the best from Prime Minister Imran Khan take the issue seriously to ensure real freedom of the press in the country.
