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
ISLAMABAD – Journalist groups Saturday gathered in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to protest Friday’s attempted kidnapping of Geo Television’s senior correspondent Azaz Syed.
Afzal Butt, President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and veteran journalist Nasir Zaidi led a protest at the Rawalpindi Press Club.
Syed Friday escaped a kidnapping attempt by unidentified men in a car and on a motorbike. He was intercepted on Park Road near Bani Gala Police Station. Sensing danger, he sped away towards Taramri Chowk and arrived at the Shahzad Town Police Station.
Zaidi termed the kidnapping attempt as an attack on the press.
“Azaz Syed does bold reporting and reports on terrorism, but some powers do not like such reporting. Journalists would not let any of their colleagues to be attacked. We stand united.”
He said democratic governments were no better than dictators.
“The democratic governments have shut down papers; they jailed journalists. Newspapers were shut down even in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s era,” he said.
Zaidi said the journalists were going through tough times and it was a pity the government was acting as a silent spectator.
In his brief speech on the occasion, Azaz Syed said that journalists had faced such atatcks in the past also and they wouldn’t be deterred by such cowardly acts.
Sheikh Rasheed, leader of the Awami Muslim League said he had told Azaz Syed to be careful in his reporting many times.
In another protest outside the National Press Club, Islamabad, PFUJ Dastoor Group made it clear the journalists would not take such attacks on the press lying down. The protest was led by President Nawaz Raza.
He said they would not leave Azaz Syed alone in this difficult time. “Let this be clear to those who have committed this ugly act that journalist fraternity stands united.”
Journalists Umar Cheema, Mazhar Iqbal, Pervaiz Shaukat and Matiullah Jan made brief speeches as did Azaz Syed.
Syed said this case was not about an individual. “It is an attack on freedom of press.”
He said that this incident would in no way affect his reporting. “I have faced such things in the past and would remain undeterred in the future too.”
The protesters called for immediate arrest of those who attempted to kidnap Syed.
Image courtesy: Matiullah Jan
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.