Journalism is the name of a very important and necessary duty in which if the truth is not spoken, then its right is not fulfilled. Freedom of expression is compromised when one starts supporting falsehood.
No one can be an honest journalist unless he or she is a true human being. It is also against the fundamentals of journalism to narrate what is heard without research, while the real duty of journalism is no less than Jihad through the pen.
Journalism is Jihad with the soul, Jihad with the pen and Jihad against falsehood, and as much as the truth-telling people like the standards of journalism, the followers of falsehood find this field as poisonous and they have been trying to suppress it in every age.
The killing of well-known journalist Arshad Sharif on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday is also one such incident that should be condemned. Well-known personalities including the President, and the Prime Minister expressed their regret and condoled the bereaved family on the incident.
Arshad Sharif, who rose to fame from the private TV program Powerplay, was primarily involved in the field of journalism and uncovered major facts and exposed the secrets of many corrupt individuals.
Be it the killing of journalists or the policies of suppressing media channels, unfortunately, our country Pakistan has been a target of great criticism from the international community in that freedom of expression is suppressed here. Journalists are subjected to torture and facts are hidden.
In the past, examples of the killing of dozens of journalists including Daniel Pearl, Aziz Memon and Sajid Tanoli can be given, which were raised by the international media and human rights organizations as well as the journalist community, but this process of suppressing freedom of expression has not stopped.
Arshad Sharif himself had a preconceived idea of his possible murder, to avoid which he may have come to Kenya. The statements that came out from the Kenyan police after the incident were also quite alarming and shocking.
Of course, the murder incident cannot always be suspected of suppressing the freedom of expression and the motives of the murder could be something else, however, the prominent political and social personalities of the country and the journalist community demanded a clear and transparent investigation into the murder of Arshad Sharif so facts could be ascertained.
