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 4 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
WASHINGTON—Pakistani authorities should cease harassing journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri and allow all members of the press to freely report on state institutions, including the military, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday.
M. Waseem Sikandar, a sub-inspector at the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crime Reporting Center in Islamabad, issued a summons for Ghauri to appear for questioning on June 25 regarding alleged “defamation through social media via YouTube,” according to a copy of the summons, which CPJ reviewed, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.
The summons states that it was issued in response to a complaint by Syed Abbas Mohiuddin, a former member of the Provincial Assembly of Attock District, but does not describe the specific defamation allegations.
Ghauri, who publishes political commentary on his YouTube channel, which has about 90,000 subscribers and previously worked as a contributor to the Urdu-language newspaper Daily Jang, told CPJ that he believed the complaint was likely issued in response to a video series he aired from 2019 to 2020 about Pakistan’s army chiefs.
“Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency needs to accept that critical coverage of key state institutions, including the army, is an essential aspect of democracy and press freedom,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should stop harassing Muhammad Bilal Ghauri, cease summoning him for questioning, and allow him and other journalists to report freely.”
Ghauri told CPJ that he previously received a summons on June 16 for questioning yesterday. In that summons, which CPJ reviewed, authorities did not specify the allegations against Ghauri or who made them. Ghauri said he sent his lawyer in his place, who told authorities that the journalist would only appear for questioning if authorities supplied more information about the allegations.
Ghauri told CPJ that he spoke to Sikandar over the phone on June 16, and said the officer described the YouTube series about Pakistan’s army chiefs as “problematic,” but refused to disclose further details regarding the complaint.
Ghauri said he plans to challenge today’s summons before the Islamabad High Court, and said if the court did not drop the order, then he would appear for questioning on June 25.
Ghauri told CPJ that he has been on indefinite leave from Daily Jang since May 5, and said he believed that military personnel had pressured the newspaper into dropping his work. CPJ emailed the newspaper for comment but did not immediately receive any reply.
Previously, in 2019, individuals who identified themselves as members of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency repeatedly called Ghauri and told him to stop talking about “sensitive issues” on his YouTube channel, and specifically cited his reporting on military chiefs, the journalist told CPJ.
Ghauri also said that three individuals who identified themselves as members of the intelligence agency visited his brother’s home in the village of Zarif Shaheed on July 31, 2019, and urged him to tell Ghauri to stop criticizing the army in Jang and on YouTube.
CPJ emailed the Federal Investigative Agency for comment, but did not receive any reply. CPJ was unable to find contact information for Syed Abbas Mohiuddin.—A CPJ News Alert
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.