Author Fazal Wahab murdered
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN condemns the murder of author Fazal Wahab on 21 January 2003. Wahab was shot dead on 21 January by four armed men in the hill resort of Mingora, in North-West Frontier Province. Wahab, whose work was critical of radical Islamic clerics, had reportedly received death threats. However, in […]
Journalist attacked by unknown assailants, escapes unhurt
(IFJ/IFEX) – In a 28 January 2003 letter to General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president and chief executive, the IFJ expressed its deep concern about the continuing spate of violent attacks against journalists in Pakistan. According to the IFJ’s information, the most recent attack occurred in Faisalabad on 6 January. Faisalabad Union of Journalists President Javed […]
Journalist shot and left for dead, in critical condition
(IFJ/IFEX) – In a 13 January 2003 letter to the president and chief executive of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, the IFJ expressed its deep concern about the recent spate of violent attacks against journalists in Pakistan. According to the IFJ’s information, the most recent attack occurred in Faisalabad on 26 December 2002. Several armed men […]
Peshawar cable television installations sabotaged
(RSF/IFEX) – On 10 January 2003, RSF condemned the latest attack on cable television installations in the Peshawar region, the second such attack in less than one week. The organisation called on Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to restore the rule of law in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and punish those responsible […]
Pakistan fails to guarantee access to information, says ARTICLE 19
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 4 December 2002 ARTICLE 19 press release: PAKISTAN FAILS TO GUARANTEE ACCESS TO INFORMATION The Freedom of Information Ordinance recently promulgated by the President of Pakistan fails to guarantee the right of citizens to access information held by public bodies or to meet international standards in this area, […]
Ordinances restrict freedom of expression, says ARTICLE 19
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 20 November 2002 ARTICLE 19 press release: PAKISTAN ORDINANCES RESTRICT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Three Ordinances recently promulgated by the President of Pakistan will exert a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression in Pakistan. The three – the Press Council Ordinance, Registration Ordinance and Defamation Ordinance – not […]
Court overturns blasphemy conviction, journalist released after three years’ imprisonment
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has confirmed that editorial writer Ayub Khoso was released from Hyderabad prison (in the southern province of Sindh) on 24 October 2002. His release follows a Hyderabad High Court decision quashing his conviction for blasphemy. He had been imprisoned since December 1999. The court also overturned the conviction of Zahoor Ansari, publication […]
Press barred from quoting online newspaper “South Asia Tribune”
(RSF/IFEX) – On 5 November 2002, RSF expressed its deep concern over a warning issued by the Pakistani government on 2 November, urging the media not to use or quote from reports published by the online newspaper “South Asia Tribune”. The Washington-based newspaper is run by a Pakistani journalist living in exile in the United […]
Journalist shot dead
(PPF/IFEX) – Shahid Soomro, a correspondent in the town of Kandhkot for the Hyderabad-based Sindhi-language daily “Kawish”, was shot dead in front of his house on 20 October 2002. Soomro, aged 26, was allegedly killed in revenge for his reporting during the recently concluded election campaign. He was shot in the abdomen at around midnight […]
High Court sets aside journalists’ conviction in blasphemy case
(PPF/IFEX) – A division bench of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, has set aside the Anti-Terrorism Court’s conviction of journalists Zahoor Ansari and Ayub Khoso in a blasphemy case. Ansari and Khoso are editor-in-chief and a columnist, respectively, of the Sindhi daily newspaper “Alakh”. According to press reports, the High Court sent the case […]
New defamation law threatens press freedom
(RSF/IFEX) – On 4 October 2002, RSF expressed alarm over a new law that would send journalists to prison for “ridicule, unjust criticism, dislike, contempt or hatred” in their writings. The organisation called for the law to be urgently amended. “This is a serious threat hanging over the heads of independent and opposition journalists,” said […]
Journalists condemn new press laws
(RSF/IFEX) – On 9 September 2002, RSF endorsed objections made by Pakistani journalists against three new ordinances on the press and urged the government to revise them in consultation with the country’s press bodies. Adopted by the government on 31 August, the ordinances increase the penalties for defamation, impose a system of prior authorisation for […]
CPJ concerned that harassment of editor and his relatives is politically motivated, urges prompt inquiry into police actions
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 27 August 2002 letter to General Pervez Musharraf, CPJ drew his attention to recent harassment of well-known journalist Shaheen Sehbai, who is living in the United States, and his family members who are living in Pakistan. On 20 August, police in Rawalpindi filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Sehbai, editor […]
Exiled editor faces scurrilous legal action
(RSF/IFEX) – On 26 August 2002, RSF protested a military employee’s filing of a complaint against journalist Shaheen Sehbai with the Rawalpindi police on 21 August. Sehbai is editor of the online newspaper “South Asia Tribune”. He left Pakistan in March following alleged “government pressure” and now lives in the United States. The complaint accuses […]
Government lifts ban on newspapers
(PPF/IFEX) – On 1 August 2002, the government of Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh lifted the suspension of the dailies “Morning Special” and “Evening Special”, in Karachi. The two publications were suspended on 17 July on charges of publishing obscene material. The government also directed the police to unseal the offices of the publications.
Editor abducted by intelligence agency officers and later released
(PPF/IFEX) – Muzaffar Ejaz, editor of the Karachi-based Urdu-language daily “Jasarat”, was picked up by intelligence agency officers as he left his office on 25 July 2002, at approximately 11:00 p.m. (local time). He was interrogated and released at 4:00 a.m. the following morning. According to press reports, the editorâs abduction was the culmination of […]