Global Impunity Index 2015: Pakistan's rank unchanged

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 8 October 2015

Pakistan's ranking on the Global Impunity Index has not improved, remaining at number 9. The country continues to face severe challenges regarding the safety of journalists due to ongoing violence and a lack of convictions.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's No. 9 rank on the 2015 Global Impunity Index of Committee to Protect Journalists has seen no change from last year and the country is bracketed with 13 others where at least five journalists have been murdered without a single perpetrator being convicted.

The index launched online Thursday covers murders that took place between September 1, 2005, and August 31, 2015. CPJ said hopes that last year's conviction of six suspects for the assassination of television reporter Wali Khan Babar would herald a new dawn for journalists have dwindled in the face of fresh violence and the leadership's failure to implement a series of commitments to CPJ to address impunity.

Three journalists have been slain since the last index period, bringing Pakistan's total to 22 for the most recent decade. They include Shan Dahar (pictured) who was gunned down while investigating illegal sales of aid medicine at a local hospital.

With the exception of Babar's case, impunity remains the norm in these murders and in a slew of recent, non-fatal attacks, such as the shooting that gravely injured popular news anchor Hamid Mir. Threats to journalists stream from military and intelligence agencies, political parties, criminal groups and militants, and corrupt local leaders. Pakistan is a focus country for the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity, an initiative that has improved dialogue and coordination among civil society, media, and the government but not yet led to any significant reduction in impunity.

Impunity Index Rating: 0.119 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants

Last year: Ranked 9th with a rating of 0.123