How was the year 2024 for Pakistani journalists?

 Saturday 14 December 2024

Islamabad (Point News Today / Pakistan Point News - 14th December, 2024 ) Analyst Mazhar Abbas, speaking to DW, described 2024 as the most difficult year for journalists in the past decade, saying that this year the mainstream media was controlled directly and indirectly through advisories, phone calls and “carrots and sticks”.

Pro-government media outlets were rewarded with advertisements while critical voices faced severe pressure.

Media under restrictions

TV anchor Asma Shirazi, speaking to DW, said that the year 2024 was the same as the past few years. According to her, digital space has decreased, the internet has slowed down, you have to live on VPNs and many of your freedoms have disappeared, “More restrictions are being imposed on the media and access to information has been as big a problem as in the past.

This trend may be growing all over the world, but here too, media censorship and self-censorship have held back the media in our country this year.

Entry of non-professional journalists

Media analyst and development affairs expert Adnan Rehmat told DW that journalists faced severe obstacles in reporting on political polarization and media outlets were prevented from covering these topics.

According to Adnan Rehmat, this resulted in a vacuum, which was often filled by non-professional journalists and further reduced the quality of information reaching the public. "Journalists who dared to report on politically sensitive topics faced serious consequences, including legal pressure and violence."

One-month deadline

The federal chapter of the Pakistan Journalists Safety Coalition in its recent meeting has given a one-month deadline to the federal and Sindh commissions to make them operational regarding the protection of journalists.

Otherwise, it has been warned that a “white paper” will be issued to highlight the situation of impunity for those who commit crimes against journalists.

“Despite the Federal Law for the Protection of Journalists being passed by the National Assembly three years ago, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has failed to complete the notification process of the commission, due to which the situation of impunity for crimes against journalists persists,” said Hamid Mir, president of the federal chapter of this coalition and a prominent journalist.

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Media analysts and human rights activists, expressing concern over the increasing pressure on journalists and media organizations by the government, have suggested that the government should take the path of dialogue with journalists and the public, as this is the only way to win the war against anti-state elements.

Elite rule

“This year I have come to realize that Pakistan has become a country where elites rule and ordinary citizens have become inhabitants of occupied territory, where political dissent, the media and human rights activists face widespread repression and pressure,” human rights activist Farzana Bari told DW.

“Farzana Bari described the environment as “horrifying and suffocating,” saying that the media, especially private institutions, do not appear to be taking an independent stance. “Those who try to report independently face notices and intense pressure,” she said. Bari described the suppression of human rights and state repression as extremely worrying, calling it a major challenge to the country’s democratic principles.

Not all is over

Iqbal Khattak, executive director of the Freedom Network, told DW that this year had been unimaginably difficult for independent and professional journalists. According to him, opponents of press freedom continued to grow stronger with impunity across the country, but these journalists are brave enough to still stand up and perform their professional duties. "For example, Dawn newspaper's investigative stories were shortlisted as the best investigative stories, which gives hope that despite the multi-pronged attacks on the media, all is not lost."

Laws to protect Pakistani journalists

While enacting legislation to protect journalists in Pakistan, separate laws were enacted in 2021 at the Sindh and federal levels to protect journalists and other media professionals. However, delays and ineffective progress in the practical implementation of these laws have further complicated the issues of journalist protection.

According to a recent report by Freedom Network, between November 2023 and August 2024, at least fifty-seven incidents of attacks and violations against media and related professionals, including journalists and other media professionals (OMPs), occurred in Pakistan.

Journalism in Pakistan is a business and the media is prone to corruption, what is at stake?

While the total number of journalists and other media professionals killed in the line of duty in Pakistan between January 2020 and August 2024, as verified by Freedom Network, is one hundred and fifty-one.

According to the report, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh were the most dangerous areas for journalists.

The report said that the killings included 148 male journalists and three female media professionals. Of these, 125 were journalists and 26 other media workers, with 122 reporters and 13 cameramen being the most targeted.

Forty-one journalists and five other media workers were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while thirty-three journalists and nine other media professionals were killed in Sindh. Twenty-two journalists and nine other media professionals were killed in Balochistan. Twenty-seven journalists were killed in Punjab and four media workers were killed in Islamabad.

Need for meaningful dialogue

Media affairs expert Adnan Rehmat, while calling social media laws “anti-people social media laws,” said, “Citizens and the state should be on the same page and this is possible only through meaningful dialogue and effective communication.