Fears for the safety of journalists in Peshawar

(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC is seriously concerned for the safety of journalists in Peshawar, northern Pakistan, following a series of attacks by unknown individuals who are thought to have links with the Taleban army in Afghanistan. The following journalists based in northern Pakistan have been repeatedly threatened or attacked in the past six months, apparently for […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC is seriously concerned for the safety of journalists in
Peshawar, northern Pakistan, following a series of attacks by unknown
individuals who are thought to have links with the Taleban army in
Afghanistan. The following journalists based in northern Pakistan have been
repeatedly threatened or attacked in the past six months, apparently for
expressing opinions opposed to Taleban policies. The Taleban authorities
themselves have not claimed responsibility for these attacks. Pakistani
authorities have reportedly not taken serious measures to investigate these
attacks.

**Updates IFEX alerts as noted in text**
Abdul Hafiz Hamid Azizi: Afghan journalist based in Peshawar (northern
Pakistan) and working for the bilingual (Pashto and Darri) daily “Sahaar”
and the Pashto-language newspaper “Wahdat”. Reportedly shot by two
unidentified men of Afghan ethnic origin
on 2 October 1998 as he was returning home. Azizi believes the attack to be
connected with articles he has written, following the publication of which
he first received anonymous threatening letters. He has gone into hiding and
has sent his family to live elsewhere (see IFEX alert of 20 October 1998).

Najeeda Sara Bibi (f): Afghan journalist. Currently working for the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on a Pashto/Persian programme entitled
“Educational Drama”. Formerly worked for the Pashto daily “Hewad”.
Reportedly fired at by two unknown assailants on 6 October 1998 while en
route to a local market in Peshawar, she escaped unhurt. She has reportedly
received a number of threatening letters in recent months demanding that she
give up her BBC job, most recently on 4 October 1998, apparently from the
Taliban intelligence agency. She has requested police protection. Bibi is an
Afghan refugee and has been living in Peshawar for the past eight years. She
is widowed and has children (see IFEX alerts of 20 October and 13 October
1998).

Saeed Iqbal Hashmi: Chief reporter for Peshawar-based Urdu language daily
“Mashriq”. Two unidentified armed men reportedly forced their way into his
home on 17 December 1998. They were frightened off by the journalist’s
father and brother, but half an hour after the incident Hashmi claims to
have received a phone call from a man speaking in Pashto with an Afghan
accent threatening to kill him for offending “the Islamic government of the
Taleban.” Hashmi went into hiding following the attack. He is said to have
previously gone into hiding for two weeks on 26 September after receiving
death threats from an Islamic fundamentalist group. The threats followed the
publication of an article in “Mashriq” on 14 September by Hashmi which
reported an increase in child abuse at various religious seminaries. It was
also reported that on 25 September certain mosques in the Hayatabad area of
Peshawar, northern Pakistan, issued fatwas sanctioning the killing of Hashmi
(see IFEX alerts of 29 December, 21 December and 28 September 1998).

Recommended Action

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Office of the Prime Minister

Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Fax: +92 51 920 5532/ 920 8890/ 920 1545