Articles by Pakistan Press Foundation
Suicide car bomb injures 20 journalists, damages offices of newspapers, television stations
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the PUJ strongly condemn the blast and express sorrow over the loss of innocent lives.
Journalists manhandled by political party workers at Karachi airport
(PPF/IFEX) – Three journalists were manhandled and injured at Karachi airport by an unruly mob that had come to greet Syed Munawwar Hassan, the newly elected chief of Jamaat-e-Islam (JI), a religious political party, on May 2, 2009. The injured included Muhammad Muntazim, a cameraman with the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Hasnain Mustafa Bilgrami […]
Taliban warn media against hostile coverage
(PPF/IFEX) – The Tehreek-e-Taliban in the troubled Swat region of Pakistan has warned newspapers and TV channels against publishing or broadcasting news against the Taliban. In a poster issued on 28 April 2009, the Taliban warned the media of dire consequences if they did not stop “propaganda” against the struggle of Taliban “for the enforcement […]
Journalist arrested, detained overnight for questioning by intelligence personnel
(PPF/IFEX) – Dilawar Jan, a reporter in the Peshawar bureau of the daily “The News”, was picked up by intelligence agency personnel from his office on the evening of 28 April 2009 in a bid to force him to disclose the source of news filed by him about an impending military operation in Buner. He […]
Kidnapped journalist Khawar Shafiq escapes his abductors
(PPF/IFEX) – Khawar Shafiq, “Daily Waqt” correspondent in the city of Faisalabad, managed to flee from his abductors on 11 April 2009, four days after he was abducted from his village. According to press reports, Shafiq said he was kidnapped by three men who shoved him into a car and made him sniff some liquid, […]
Armed men disrupt Karachi cultural festival over photo montage
(PPF/IFEX) – Armed assailants stormed the Arts Council in the Pakistani capital, Karachi, on 8 April 2009, ransacking the Shanakht Cultural Festival and accusing organisers of “political blasphemy”. The event was organised by the Citizens Archives of Pakistan (CAP). The attackers were outraged by a photo montage depicting former leaders of the ruling Pakistan People’s […]
Kidnappers threaten to kill journalist Khadija Abdul Qahar if ransom of $2 million is not paid
(PPF/IFEX) – On 18 March 2009, kidnappers holding the Canadian woman journalist, Khadija Abdul Qahar, in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal agency threatened to kill her if their demand of a $2 million ransom is not met by 30 March. Qahar, the publisher of a Canadian web magazine, and her two Pakistani guides, Salman Khan and […]
Journalists barred from covering senate elections
(PPF/IFEX) – On 4 March 2009, journalists were barred from covering the proceedings of senate elections from the press gallery of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Assembly. Security officials stopped journalists from entering the assembly hall soon after the polling began. The outraged journalists shouted slogans and staged a sit-in outside the main entrance […]