International and local media organizations have urged all political parties of Pakistan to commit to “concrete measures” to ensure press freedom ahead of general elections due next year.
Co-authored by the Karachi Press Club, Lahore Press Club, Quetta Press Club, National Press Club, 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, Pakistan Journalists Safety Coalition, Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors, Freedom Network, Reporters Without Borders and TV anchor Hamid Mir, the letter called on all political parties to assert their commitment to defending freedom of expression and protection of journalists in their party manifestos.
“Impunity for crimes against journalists and media is very high in Pakistan, which was among the five countries included in a pilot project of the U.N. Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity,” read the letter, issued on Tuesday. “RSF’s Pakistan partner Freedom Network’s Annual Impunity 2022 Report stated that there were ‘no convictions in 96% of journalist killings’ in the past 10 years,” it said, noting such a high percentage of impunity was “alarming” and puts journalists in extreme danger for doing their jobs in Pakistan. This in turn, it said, denies citizens their right to know and access information, as enshrined in Articles 19 and 19A of the Constitution.
“In the run-up to elections, the ball is now in the court of the political parties as regards defending press freedom, as well as journalistic independence and pluralism, as fundamental guarantees of a functioning democracy,” it said, adding all signatories to the letter were calling on the main political parties to make a concrete commitment to their proposals. This, read the letter, should start with the search for legislative guarantees for the protection of journalists and the fight against impunity for crimes of violence against them.
Recalling that political parties have been “strong supporters” of freedom of expression and press freedom in Pakistan, it said journalistic institutions had worked to uphold the constitutional rights to freedom of expression. “We ask these federal and regional political parties to take our call into consideration and state unambiguously that they will support press freedom, the right to reliable information and the defense of journalists, that they will end impunity for crimes against media through Pakistan’s legal framework and that they will bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against journalists,” it added.
According to the letter, it has been delivered to the following parties: Pakistan Peoples Party; Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz); Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf; Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl); Jamaat-e-Islami; Awami National Party; Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan; Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party; Balochistan Awami Party; Balochistan National Party (Mengal); Qaumi Watan Party; Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid); Hazara Democratic Party; and the National Party.