Since Year 2000, approximately 109 journalists and media workers have died in Pakistan – some killed in the line of duty for their reporting while others lost their lives to the ‘breaking news culture’ and became casualties of terrorism incidents attempting to be first on the spot. It said 109 were singled out because of their profession and 24 died accidentally. The 109 “targeted killings” was one of the highest ever recorded, said the IFJ. It listed the Philippines, Mexico and Somalia as the most dangerous countries for journalists this year. It should be noted that despite having lived in a war theatre for over 35 years, our mainstream media has not produced even a handful of experienced and well-trained war correspondents. That is why when war finally knocked on our own doors sometime in 2005, we were caught unawares. And that is perhaps why we have lost so many journalists in this war in the last 10 years or so. We have also lost a number of journalists covering the armed insurgencies indulged in by the militant wings of political parties in Sindh, as well as in the ones waged by separatists in Balochistan. In fact, today the entire country has become a war zone and every journalist operating in this zone, no matter what his beat, has become a war correspondent but without being trained for the job. There are many aspects of a story that can land a journalist in fatal trouble today — a wrong headline, one single factual error, a truth too close to home, rushing into the crossfire or a riot with your camera and laptop, getting too close to a scene of a first bomb blast, too intrusive for one or the other side or taking up social causes not popular among armed hordes of extremists. The CPJ Report, while greatly disturbing, also inculcates a sense of hope. Pakistan has been designated as a focus country for the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity. While there are plenty of laws in our Constitution guaranteeing citizens’ safety and security, there is no law explicitly guaranteeing the safety of journalists. Given the important role of journalists in a democracy, especially one as precarious as Pakistan’s, the feeling is that relying on piecemeal laws has not worked. So, with the passage of the CPJ-suggested Protection of Professionals Engaged in Journalism Act, Pakistan could emerge as an international front-runner in attempts to effectively protect journalists.
pk.shafaqna.com
