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 9 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
NEW YORK - The raid by a Pakistani paramilitary force on a journalist’s house is just the latest attempt by Pakistan’s security agencies to intimidate journalists who criticize the government and military, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
On January 12, 2016, soldiers from the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers entered and, without a warrant, searched the house of Salman Masood, a journalist working for the New York Times. In November 2015, the military allegedly pressured the Lahore-based Daily Times to shut down an editorial columnist.
The Interior Ministry issued an apology later that day and ordered an inquiry into the raid on Masood. The government asserted that the action was part of a broader search operation in the neighborhood. However, only one other house was searched, raising serious concerns that the raid’s purpose was to harass and intimidate Masood, Human Rights Watch said. Masood has reported extensively about government policies and the role of the military.
“The Pakistan Rangers’ warrantless search of journalist Salman Masood’s home is an outrage, but only the latest security force outrage against journalists in Pakistan,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “A raid on a journalist’s home demands not just a government apology, but also a serious Pakistani government investigation of the security forces’ intimidation of journalists.”
The government should rescind official policies that shield the military from criticism and instead ensure that space for public debate and free speech is protected both from extremist groups and the security establishment, Human Rights Watch said.
Masood said that on the morning of January 12, armed men in uniforms of the Pakistan Rangers, demanded to search his house. They refused to show identification or a search warrant. Masood initially refused entry, saying that family members were in the house, and called senior police officials for an explanation. The troops left but returned half an hour later, accompanied by women police constables. Masood said that the security forces claimed to be searching for a terror suspect, but without explanation opened cupboards and drawers and went through his personal belongings.
In May 2013, the Interior Ministry, under pressure from the military, ordered the longtime New York Times bureau chief, Declan Walsh, to be expelled from the country on 72 hours’ notice.
Pakistani journalists have long faced life-threatening obstacles to their work, including harassment, intimidation, assault, kidnapping, and arbitrary arrest and detention. These threats come from the government, security forces, and militant groups. Increasingly, it is security forces who are pressuring editors and media owners to shut down critical voices.
The stifling environment for Pakistani journalists was highlighted by the case of Dr. Mohammed Taqi, a well-known columnist for the Daily Times who was often critical of the security establishment. Taqi reported that on November 27, he received an email from one of his editors that read: "It is with an extremely heavy heart that I regret to inform you that Daily Times will be unable to accommodate your daring and conscientious articles. Due to the climate under which print media operates in these times such pieces are constantly being put under scrutiny and so the newspaper with it."
In August, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued a code of conduct for media that seeks to censor any content that “contains aspersions against the judiciary or armed forces.”
Pakistan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. More than 35 journalists and media workers have been killed in Pakistan because of their work since 2010. The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index placed Pakistan ninth on the list of countries where journalists are murdered without the attackers being prosecuted. - Human Rights Watch
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.