Pakistan Press Foundation

(PPF/IFEX) – The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) of Pakistan has rejected amendments to the press council legislation proposed by the government. The CPNE said the amendments would change the press council from an independent and voluntary body to a ‘Special Court’ that could be used against the press. The CPNE noted that the […]

(PPF/IFEX) – On 23 December 2005, a group of armed men threw a petrol bomb into the offices of the Sukkur edition of the Sindhi-language daily newspaper “Khabroon,” setting the reception area on fire. The attackers hurled threats at the newspaper staff and fired shots into the air. In a letter, Mr. Imtnan Shahid, the […]

(PPF/IFEX) – A bomb exploded in the house of a journalist in Wana, South Waziristan Agency, in Pakistan at 5:00 a.m. (local time) on 16 December 2005. The area, which borders Afghanistan, is the centre of Pakistani army action against militants. The boundary wall and one room of the house of Dilawar Khan Wazir, correspondent […]

(PPF/IFEX) – Many daily newspapers in Karachi faced delays and problems because the police raided a printing press on 13 December 2005, on suspicion that it was printing a banned publication. The police also stopped one newspaper from being printed in any other printing presses. Citi Press, which prints a number of publications including the […]

(PPF/IFEX) – On 14 November 2005, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) raided a private FM radio station in Karachi and shut down its transmission for alleged violation of laws regulating the operation of radio stations. PEMRA officials assisted by the local police raided the FM 103 radio station and seized its transponders, antennas […]

(PPF/IFEX) – On 15 August 2005, the publishing licences of the weekly publications “Wajood”, “Zerb-i-Islam” and “Friday Special” were cancelled on the recommendation of the government of Sindh province. The order to cancel the publishing licences effectively banned publication of the three magazines. Press reports quoted the head of city administration, District Coordination Officer Fazlur […]

(PPF/IFEX) – Rashid Channa, a reporter for the “Star”, a Karachi evening daily published by the Dawn Group of Newspapers, was arrested by police on the afternoon of 24 July 2005 and detained for about 12 hours before being released at 1:00 a.m. (local time) the following day. On 25 July, Channa was charged with […]

(PPF/IFEX) – On 23 July 2005, unknown persons threw three homemade bombs into the home of Khursheed Ahmed, bureau chief of the daily “Khabrain” in the city of Gilgit, capital of Pakistan’s Northern Areas. Ahmed is also president of the Gilgit Press Club. Two of the three bombs detonated while the third did not explode. […]