(RSF/IFEX) – On 11 April 2003, RSF voiced its concern about a bomb attack on the home of a journalist in the South Waziristan tribal area of northwestern Pakistan and the harassment of another journalist’s family by military authorities in the adjoining North Waziristan tribal area. Both incidents appear to have been prompted by reports […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 11 April 2003, RSF voiced its concern about a bomb attack on the home of a journalist in the South Waziristan tribal area of northwestern Pakistan and the harassment of another journalist’s family by military authorities in the adjoining North Waziristan tribal area. Both incidents appear to have been prompted by reports in the national press.
The organisation called on Federal Interior Minister Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat to ensure that the two incidents are thoroughly investigated as they threaten the freedom and safety of journalists in the Tribal Areas, where the press has to work in difficult conditions because of frequent harassment by local dignitaries and authorities.
The 4 April bomb attack took place outside the home of Awardeen Mehsood, a correspondent for the Urdu-language national daily “Khabrian” and the news agency NNI, in Laddah, the South Waziristan Agency’s main town. The explosion damaged the door of his home. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is thought to be linked to the journalist’s reports on the activities of the Youth Movement, which is pressing for a change in the status of the Tribal Areas. The federal authorities have promised to liberalise the laws governing the region, which borders on Afghanistan, but the civilian administrator still has significant coercive powers.
In 2002, Mehsood, who is also one of the leaders of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), was sentenced to pay a heavy fine of 5,000 euros (US$5,400) for allegedly libelling the region’s civilian administration.
In another incident, Hayatullah Khan, the correspondent for the national Urdu-language daily “Ausaf” in Mir Ali, North Waziristan tribal area, and his family have been harassed by military officials since 3 April 2003. This follows the publication of a report about the misuse of army vehicles in Mir Ali. Khan’s brothers and daughter have been expelled from their army-run school. The officer in charge of the school has also threatened Khan.
