At least 16 media groups have issued a critical plea to the major mainstream and local political parties engaged in the election campaign to commit to specific actions in support of press freedom as the status of journalists in Pakistan deteriorates in the lead-up to the general elections.
The country's top press clubs, national and provincial journalist unions, Paris-based global media watchdog organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and RSF's Pakistan partner Freedom Network urge mainstream and provincial leaders of contending parties to express their commitment to defending their respective parties' positions during the upcoming general elections in Pakistan.
"Pakistan, one of the five countries engaged in a pilot project of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, has a very high rate of impunity for crimes against journalists and the media. According to a press release a representative of RSF Pakistan published here on Tuesday, the Annual Impunity 2022 Report from Freedom Network found that "no convictions in 96% of journalist killings" had occurred in the previous ten years.
"Such a high percentage of impunity for crimes against media practitioners and assistants is alarming and puts journalists in extreme danger for practicing journalism, denying citizens of Pakistan their right to know and access information—the two fundamental rights enshrined in the 1973 Pakistani Constitution, guaranteed by Articles 19 and 19A," the statement read.
Karachi Press Club, Lahore Press Club, Quetta Press Club, National Press Club, Islamabad, Peshawar Press Club, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Karachi Union of Journalists, Punjab Union of Journalists, Balochistan Union of Journalists, Khyber Union of Journalists, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists, Digital Media Alliance of Pakistan (DigiMAP), Pakistan Journalists Safety Coalition (PJSC)-Federal chapter, Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND), Freedom Network, Reporters Without Borders and TV journalist Hamid Mir co-authored a joint letter that has been delivered to all mainstream political parties seeking their commitment to defending press freedom if they are elected to national and provincial parliament in the forthcoming general elections.