KARACHI: Sindh government on Wednesday announced formation of a commission for protection of journalists and media practitioners.
This was announced by administrator Karachi and spokesperson for Sindh government Murtaza Wahab in a post on social media.
Taking to Twitter, he announced that the Sindh cabinet had approved establishing a commission, to be headed by Justice Rasheed Rizvi, to protect journalists and other media persons.
#Sindh Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Commission for the Protection of Journalists & Other Media Practitioners. Justice Rasheed Rizvi will serve as its 1st Chairperson
— Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) November 16, 2022
Earlier in February this year, the then Sindh information minister Saeed Ghani had assured that the provincial government would form a commission in order to ensure safety of media people, as envisaged in the Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act-2021.
This journalists’ protection law was unanimously passed by the Sindh Assembly in May 2021, to promote, protect and ensure the independence, impartiality, safety and freedom of expression for journalists and other media practitioners.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan ranks 145 out of 180 countries on the media rights watchdog, Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2021 World Press Freedom Index. Reports of journalists being intimidated, threatened, beaten, abducted, harassed or even killed are not uncommon in the country, which stands as the fifth most dangerous place for the profession, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
In Sindh alone, at least one journalist has been killed in the current year. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, at least two were picked up and then released and one killed in 2020. At least 25 FIRs have reportedly been lodged against various journalists in Sukkur alone over the past 18 months.
