Articles by Pakistan Press Foundation
Reporter and cameraman for private television station mistreated and briefly detained
(PPF/IFEX) – On 27 August 2004, two staff members for the independent television station Geo were mistreated by Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials in Karachi. Reporter Mohammad Bin Yousaf and cameraman Mehboob Ali were trying to cover a narcotics raid for Geo. They introduced themselves to the ANF officials, who prevented them from filming the raid […]
Controversial defamation bill passed by Parliament’s lower house
(PPF/IFEX) – Rejecting the opposition’s objections, on 19 August 2004 the ruling coalition passed a controversial Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2004 in the National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house of Parliament. The bill is mainly designed to protect public figures from slander by increasing punishment for offenders, including imprisonment of up to five years and/or a minimum […]
Government tables amendments to defamation legislation
(PPF/IFEX) – On 29 July 2004, the Pakistani government introduced to the National Assembly proposed amendments to Defamation Ordinance 2002, under which defamation had been declared a “criminal offence”. The amendments would increase prison sentences from three months to one year and fines from Rs 50,000 to Rs 300,000 (approx. US$900 to US$4,500). In cases […]
Government bans placement of official advertisements in daily newspaper
(PPF/IFEX) – The Pakistani government’s Ministry of Information has effectively banned the publication of all official advertisements in the independent, Urdu-language daily “Jinnah”, which began publishing in the capital, Islamabad, on 22 October 2003. The newspaper believes that the step was taken in retaliation for its independent editorial policy. Government advertisements constitute a vital source […]
Journalist assaulted by senior government official
(PPF/IFEX) – On 10 July 2004, a senior government bureaucrat beat a woman journalist and locked her in a room for about an hour. According to press reports, Saima Zahoor, a reporter with the Urdu-language daily “Express”, had gone to meet with Asif Rahim, deputy secretary of the Environment Ministry, to seek his comments on […]
Newspaper publishers deplore use of government advertisements as tool against publications
(PPF/IFEX) – The All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), the country’s national publishers organisation, has strongly deplored the government’s coercive actions against the press as manifested in the continued ban on government advertisements in “Nawa-e-Waqt”, “The Nation” and other newspapers. The APNS urged the president, General Pervez Musharraf, to intervene in the matter. At a recent […]
Journalists denied entry into tribal area
(PPF/IFEX) – On 13 June 2004, the political administration of Khyber Agency, in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), denied entry into the area to a group of Peshawar reporters. The journalists wanted to cover a tribal Jirga (council of tribal elders) that was protesting the ongoing military operations in the areas bordering on Afghanistan. […]
Five newspapers banned, offices sealed, staff arrested
(PPF/IFEX) – On 25 May 2004, the provincial government in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh banned eight newspapers in the city of Karachi on charges of “publishing obscene photographs” and “blackmail”. Police also sealed their offices and arrested newspaper owners and staff. According to press reports, heavy contingents of police raided the offices of “Morning […]