Two months ago, on May 25, Pakistani journalist and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor was viciously assaulted in his apartment in Islamabad. Three unidentified and masked men broke into his flat, tied him up and beat him with the butt of a pistol.
One of the three assailants, Toor told newsmen later, introduced himself as an intelligence official. While the men were torturing him, they forced him to repeatedly chant slogans in support of intelligence organisations. They also demanded that he chant “Death to Israel, Afghanistan and Hindustan (India).”
“So far none of the three men have been traced. NADRA, FIA and police [are] cooperating in finding the culprits so I’m waiting for their arrest so that it can be confirmed whether they actually intelligence officials,” Toor told Naya Daur, when asked about the latest update on his case.
As the distressing news of the attack on Toor broke, ruling party trolls and some rightwing lunatic vloggers gleefully began mocking and questioning the “authenticity” of the incident. This method is similar to the way they questioned attacks on Absar Alam, Matiullah Jan and Hamid Mir. This response of shocking; it seems the agenda is to keep the public bewildered and protect the perpetrators from accountability. But everyone knows who attacked Toor. Everyone knows on whose whims journalists are silenced. Everyone knows who is the direct beneficiary of this barbaric violence faced by journalists. And everyone knows there won’t be any accountability for them.
The government claims that Islamabad, known for its advanced surveillance camera system, is the safest city in the country but instances of physical attacks on journalists support the argument that the capital city has been dubbed the “most dangerous place to practice journalism in Pakistan” between May 3, 2020 and April 20, 2021, as per the Freedom Network.
“The State emerged as the biggest threat actor against journalists in the period under review as victims and their families blamed it in a whopping 46 percent of the 148 documented cases of violations against media practitioners,” the media watchdog stated. Last month, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) listed Prime Minister Imran Khan as a “predator since taking office” in the ignominious 2021 gallery of 37 head of states “who crackdown massively on press freedom.”
After the attack on Toor, protests broke out all over the country. At one of these protests, senior journalist Hamid Mir, in a brave, hard-hitting and no-holds-barred speech took up the cudgels against fellow scribes and warned state agencies of exposing their “internal matters.”
Succumbing to tremendous pressure in the aftermath of the speech, three days later, Mir was told without any ‘official’ orders, not to host his 8pm talk show on Geo News. Hamid Mir being taken off air is not an isolated incident. There is an exhaustive list of leading journalists which are barred from mainstream channels nor can they publish their opinions. Every journalist which holds independent views and does not take dictation these days is being shut down. Sadly
This is the worst time for press freedom since “democracy” was ushered in 1988, senior journalist Najam Sethi told Naya Daur. “Now this hybrid civil-military system is making laws to even crackdown on social media. Anyone who criticizes them is a traitor and enemy.”
The state has become increasingly allergic to criticism. In the past 15 years, journalists have frequently faced daunting multidimensional obstacles – harassment, intimidation, assault, arbitrary detention, abduction and even death – merely for doing their work.
In 2011, the body of journalist Saleem Shahzad was found entangled in the gates of the Upper Jhelum Canal, a couple of hours drive southeast of Islamabad. His body was swollen, mortally wounded and bore signs of torture. In 2012, the Taliban planted a bomb in Hamid Mir’s car. In 2014, six bullets were pumped into his body in a brutal attack. He was also implicated in blasphemy cases. In 2010, Umar Cheema was abducted, tortured and humiliated, allegedly by state agencies. In 2020, media mogul Mir Shakilur Rehman was hounded by authorities, on what lawyers, journalists and rights groups have consistently argued are “flimsy pretexts” in a four decades old land case. Later that year, Matiullah Jan, another outspoken journalist, known for his comprehensive reporting on Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s case, was abducted by agencies and released within hours due to international and media outrage.
On April 20, 2021, just two days after Absar Alam, veteran journalist and ex-chairman PEMRA, made a tweet saying he was pressured by certain agencies to publish anti-government news in 2017, he was shot by someone while walking outside his house at close range. He narrowly escaped serious injury; there was a small entry and a large exit wound.
“I’m not sure yet who did it and who was the mastermind behind it because we don’t have any evidence yet. I cannot name a person but definitely people don’t like my tweets and powerful people would be behind it,” Alam has said. He added: “No culprit has so far been arrested by the police. No progress is made in my case. This is the biggest tragedy.”
Talking about the current drive of press freedom in Pakistan, he said: “This is the worst time for journalists and media in Pakistan. Never in Pakistan during martial law, the situation was so bad as it is now. There is a general consensus [on it] across the board.” He also said: “Pakistan has further slipped on the world ranking of freedom of speech from 140 to 148. There is a war going on against press freedom.”
Many other attacks have also occurred but most have not been reported. It is exceedingly clear that journalists in Pakistan, despite facing incredibly challenging times, never sought exile. None of them, not for a moment, thought of leaving Pakistan. All continued their struggle for freedom of press in the country.
“We have protested before but the attacks continue, showing us that they’re not working,” says Hamza Azhar Salam, an investigative journalist, who recently received blood curdling threats after writing a scathing investigative story. “We need to unite and use our collective strength to show this government that attacks on press freedom will not be tolerated. We can start by reporting more on the curbs on press freedom in mainstream media,” Salam says.
Either you are with establishment or you get missing, disappeared, face arrests, legal cases or being taken for “a trip to the northern areas” – a euphemism for torture. But when Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before international media, he bragged about press freedom and said: “Pakistani press is freer than British media.” According to minister for information, “those journalists who complain of censorship, attacks on media and shrinking space for criticism are part of the Indian propaganda against Pakistan.” When you fail to investigate attacks on journalists and prosecute the attackers, despite there being videos, this old mantra of treason are used by ministers in Khan’s cabinet to disparage those who speak the truth.
The writer is a correspondent for The Pakistan Daily in Karachi. He tweets at @AbdullahhZahid and can be reached via email: azahidofficial511@gmail.com.
One of the three assailants, Toor told newsmen later, introduced himself as an intelligence official. While the men were torturing him, they forced him to repeatedly chant slogans in support of intelligence organisations. They also demanded that he chant “Death to Israel, Afghanistan and Hindustan (India).”
“So far none of the three men have been traced. NADRA, FIA and police [are] cooperating in finding the culprits so I’m waiting for their arrest so that it can be confirmed whether they actually intelligence officials,” Toor told Naya Daur, when asked about the latest update on his case.
As the distressing news of the attack on Toor broke, ruling party trolls and some rightwing lunatic vloggers gleefully began mocking and questioning the “authenticity” of the incident. This method is similar to the way they questioned attacks on Absar Alam, Matiullah Jan and Hamid Mir. This response of shocking; it seems the agenda is to keep the public bewildered and protect the perpetrators from accountability. But everyone knows who attacked Toor. Everyone knows on whose whims journalists are silenced. Everyone knows who is the direct beneficiary of this barbaric violence faced by journalists. And everyone knows there won’t be any accountability for them.
The government claims that Islamabad, known for its advanced surveillance camera system, is the safest city in the country but instances of physical attacks on journalists support the argument that the capital city has been dubbed the “most dangerous place to practice journalism in Pakistan” between May 3, 2020 and April 20, 2021, as per the Freedom Network.
“The State emerged as the biggest threat actor against journalists in the period under review as victims and their families blamed it in a whopping 46 percent of the 148 documented cases of violations against media practitioners,” the media watchdog stated. Last month, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) listed Prime Minister Imran Khan as a “predator since taking office” in the ignominious 2021 gallery of 37 head of states “who crackdown massively on press freedom.”
The government claims that Islamabad, known for its advanced surveillance camera system, is the safest city in the country but instances of physical attacks on journalists support the argument that the capital city has been dubbed the “most dangerous place to practice journalism in Pakistan” between May 3, 2020 and April 20, 2021, as per the Freedom Network
After the attack on Toor, protests broke out all over the country. At one of these protests, senior journalist Hamid Mir, in a brave, hard-hitting and no-holds-barred speech took up the cudgels against fellow scribes and warned state agencies of exposing their “internal matters.”
Succumbing to tremendous pressure in the aftermath of the speech, three days later, Mir was told without any ‘official’ orders, not to host his 8pm talk show on Geo News. Hamid Mir being taken off air is not an isolated incident. There is an exhaustive list of leading journalists which are barred from mainstream channels nor can they publish their opinions. Every journalist which holds independent views and does not take dictation these days is being shut down. Sadly
This is the worst time for press freedom since “democracy” was ushered in 1988, senior journalist Najam Sethi told Naya Daur. “Now this hybrid civil-military system is making laws to even crackdown on social media. Anyone who criticizes them is a traitor and enemy.”
The state has become increasingly allergic to criticism. In the past 15 years, journalists have frequently faced daunting multidimensional obstacles – harassment, intimidation, assault, arbitrary detention, abduction and even death – merely for doing their work.
In 2011, the body of journalist Saleem Shahzad was found entangled in the gates of the Upper Jhelum Canal, a couple of hours drive southeast of Islamabad. His body was swollen, mortally wounded and bore signs of torture. In 2012, the Taliban planted a bomb in Hamid Mir’s car. In 2014, six bullets were pumped into his body in a brutal attack. He was also implicated in blasphemy cases. In 2010, Umar Cheema was abducted, tortured and humiliated, allegedly by state agencies. In 2020, media mogul Mir Shakilur Rehman was hounded by authorities, on what lawyers, journalists and rights groups have consistently argued are “flimsy pretexts” in a four decades old land case. Later that year, Matiullah Jan, another outspoken journalist, known for his comprehensive reporting on Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s case, was abducted by agencies and released within hours due to international and media outrage.
This is the worst time for press freedom since “democracy” was ushered in 1988, senior journalist Najam Sethi told Naya Daur. “Now this hybrid civil-military system is making laws to even crackdown on social media. Anyone who criticizes them is a traitor and enemy.”
On April 20, 2021, just two days after Absar Alam, veteran journalist and ex-chairman PEMRA, made a tweet saying he was pressured by certain agencies to publish anti-government news in 2017, he was shot by someone while walking outside his house at close range. He narrowly escaped serious injury; there was a small entry and a large exit wound.
“I’m not sure yet who did it and who was the mastermind behind it because we don’t have any evidence yet. I cannot name a person but definitely people don’t like my tweets and powerful people would be behind it,” Alam has said. He added: “No culprit has so far been arrested by the police. No progress is made in my case. This is the biggest tragedy.”
Talking about the current drive of press freedom in Pakistan, he said: “This is the worst time for journalists and media in Pakistan. Never in Pakistan during martial law, the situation was so bad as it is now. There is a general consensus [on it] across the board.” He also said: “Pakistan has further slipped on the world ranking of freedom of speech from 140 to 148. There is a war going on against press freedom.”
Many other attacks have also occurred but most have not been reported. It is exceedingly clear that journalists in Pakistan, despite facing incredibly challenging times, never sought exile. None of them, not for a moment, thought of leaving Pakistan. All continued their struggle for freedom of press in the country.
“We have protested before but the attacks continue, showing us that they’re not working,” says Hamza Azhar Salam, an investigative journalist, who recently received blood curdling threats after writing a scathing investigative story. “We need to unite and use our collective strength to show this government that attacks on press freedom will not be tolerated. We can start by reporting more on the curbs on press freedom in mainstream media,” Salam says.
Either you are with establishment or you get missing, disappeared, face arrests, legal cases or being taken for “a trip to the northern areas” – a euphemism for torture. But when Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before international media, he bragged about press freedom and said: “Pakistani press is freer than British media.” According to minister for information, “those journalists who complain of censorship, attacks on media and shrinking space for criticism are part of the Indian propaganda against Pakistan.” When you fail to investigate attacks on journalists and prosecute the attackers, despite there being videos, this old mantra of treason are used by ministers in Khan’s cabinet to disparage those who speak the truth.
The writer is a correspondent for The Pakistan Daily in Karachi. He tweets at @AbdullahhZahid and can be reached via email: azahidofficial511@gmail.com.