(PPF/IFEX) – The federal government has resorted to the use of advice and the suspension of advertisements in an effort to persuade newspapers to tone down their coverage of sectarian violence in Pakistan’s Northern Areas and an unrelated incident of alleged gang rape involving a female doctor in a sensitive area of Balochistan province, which […]
(PPF/IFEX) – The federal government has resorted to the use of advice and the suspension of advertisements in an effort to persuade newspapers to tone down their coverage of sectarian violence in Pakistan’s Northern Areas and an unrelated incident of alleged gang rape involving a female doctor in a sensitive area of Balochistan province, which is suffering from serious law and order problems.
The government advised newspapers in Islamabad not to play up incidents of sectarian violence and to refrain from sensational coverage as it feared it could further inflame tensions between Shiite and Sunni communities in Gilgit, the Northern Areas’ capital. Newspapers with sizable readership in the Northern Areas felt they could not downplay such major incidents and prominently covered the sectarian tensions and violence. In retaliation, the government suspended advertisements in eight newspapers that it said were indulging in sensational coverage of sectarian violence.
In the case of the alleged gang rape, tribesmen of the area accused a security forces member of being responsible, although the victim has been unable to identify her assailants. Government sources said security forces are being blamed in an attempt to put pressure on the government in a dispute with local tribes over natural gas royalties. The authorities advised newspapers not to publish the name of the security forces member. However, some newspapers ignored the advice and published the name of the person who was accused by the local tribes.
In a resolution passed on 14 January 2005, the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ (CPNE) Standing Committee condemned the use of “press advice” as a form of government intervention in the affairs of the press. The CPNE also expressed concern over the suspension of government advertisements in newspapers that do not abide by the advice. In addition, the CPNE noted that although creating sensational coverage was irresponsible, reporting of facts was not only the right of newspapers but also the professional responsibility of editors.
