PFUJ calls for end to Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 8 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemned the killing of two media workers in Pakistan just hours apart on May 17 and demanded immediate arrest and prosecution of the killers.
On Wednesday, armed robbers gunned down Abdul Razzaque, a Chunian correspondent for ARY News Television in an attempted robbery in Pattoki, Kasur.
Razzaque was killed when the assailants opened fire on him and Muqadar Hussain after stopping their car. Hussain was taken to hospital but Razzaque died at the scene.
ARY News condemned the brazen attack and expressed condolences to the bereaved family of Razzaque.
Just hours later in Lahore, Amir Shakeel, a 35-year old designer at Nawa-i-Waqt was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. Two motorcyclists opened fire on him and fled. He died on the way to the hospital. Police said they suspected an old enmity or personal grudge as the motive behind the killing.
A few days earlier, on May 11, in Karachi, Amin Yousaf, the Resident Editor Nawa-i-Waqt was targeted in a day-light robbery. Yousaf, the former general secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) was on way to his office with his daughter, when gunmen on a motorbike intercepted his car, stealing his mobile phone and cash at gunpoint. Neither Amin nor his daughter was injured in the attack.
The IFJ extended condolences to the families of Razzaque and Shakeel and said it stands in solidarity with colleagues in Pakistan.
The IFJ General-Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “The IFJ strongly condemns the killing of media workers Abdul Razzaque and Amir Shakeel in Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan is a dangerous country for journalists, and the reigning impunity in the crimes against journalists is making the situation increasingly dangerous. The IFJ urges the Pakistan authorities to immediately arrest and punish the killers to ensure justice to slain media staffs.” – IFJ media release/Image: Amir Shakeel (Courtesy Rural Journalist Network Pakistan)
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025: Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
October 30, 2025: The PFUJ has condemned a fabricated drug case against journalist Matiullah Jan, calling it an attempt to silence him and urging authorities to quash the charges immediately.
October 30, 2025: NewsOne TV remains on air but faces mass layoffs and delayed salaries, exposing Pakistan’s worsening media crisis and financial instability.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.
November 01, 2025 Belarus court jails journalist Siarhei Chabotska for extremism and defaming the president, highlighting Minsk’s ongoing crackdown on press freedom.
November 01, 2025 Mexican journalist Miguel Angel Beltran was found murdered in Durango. CPJ urges authorities to ensure justice amid rising violence against journalists in Mexico.
November 01, 2025 UNESCO survey finds one-third of media lawyers cannot effectively defend journalists due to threats, limited resources, and lack of specialization.
October 31, 2025 Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.