Dawn chief reporter Amir Wasim claims being chased

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 21 November 2021 |  JP Staff Report

Amir Wasim reported being chased by unidentified individuals after leaving a FAFEN event. He suggested a connection to political tensions surrounding recent journalistic activities.

Summary

ISLAMABAD—Dawn newspaper's Chief Report Amir Wasim (pictured) has claimed that unknown individuals chased him and others after leaving FAFEN's office Saturday night.

In a Facebook post, Amir said: "All those, including me, who left Fafen office around midnight were chased by people {Namaloom Afrad) in different vehicles." He added that a black old Toyota Corolla bearing registration number IDE-555 chased them. Wasim did not name others who were with him.

The post seems to link the alleged harassment to a probe ordered against FAFEN for funding a Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) anti-government journalists convention.

On Saturday, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Economic Affairs Division to investigate the matter.

The Workers Convention held in a posh Islamabad hotel drew criticism for ignoring working journalists and promoting the opposition's narrative.  

Also Saturday, Sarwar Bari, former secretary-general of FAFEN, leveled severe allegations of data fudging against the organization, which claims neutrality and transparency in election observation in Pakistan.

Bari maintained that FAFEN had jettisoned its guiding principles of inclusion, non-discrimination, neutrality, objectivity, transparency, commitment to democracy, and accountability.

Amir Wasim added that afterward, a white Cultus chased him to his home. However, he said this was nothing new for him. "This was not a new thing for any of us who know the challenges of living in a security state where resources are wasted on such useless activities."

He said the reason for the chase was FAFEN's convention in which opposition leaders and journalists had spoken about the government's anti-democratic steps against the media.

"Interestingly, Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and HR minister Shireen Mazari had also been invited, but they didn't attend the event, perhaps knowing the sentiments."

However, the post did not say if the reporter was stopped or inquired about anything in particular.

Photo: Facebook

KEY POINTS:

• Amir Wasim claims he was chased after a FAFEN event.
• The incident is linked to a probe into FAFEN by the government.
• FAFEN has faced allegations regarding its neutrality and election observation.
• Unknown individuals were reported to be in multiple vehicles.
• The situation highlights the challenges journalists face in Pakistan.