Journalism Pakistan
Journalism Pakistan
Freedom of expression shrinks in Pakistan as PECA Amendments take toll: report اظہارِ رائے کی آزادی محدود، پیکا میں ترامیم سے میڈیا کو شدید دھچکا: رپورٹDawn urges Indian media to abandon war rhetoric ڈان کی بھارتی میڈیا سے جنگی بیانیہ ترک کرنے کی اپیلIndia bans 16 Pakistani YouTube channels following Pahalgan attack پہلگام حملے کے بعد بھارت نے پاکستان کے 16 یوٹیوب چینلز پر پابندی لگا دی'In A Different Realm' offers a philosophical take on cricket's greatest innings ان اے ڈیفرنٹ ریلم کرکٹ کی عظیم ترین اننگز پر ایک فکری نقطۂ نظر پیش کرتی ہےCoordinated or coincidence? Identical tweets by Pakistani journalists raise eyebrows ہم آہنگی یا محض اتفاق؟ پاکستانی صحافیوں کے ایک جیسے ٹویٹس نے سوالات اٹھا دیےThe PSL paradox: pageantry or progress? پی ایس ایل کا تضاد: دکھاوا یا ترقی؟Sher Afzal Marwat launches personal attacks on journalists after PTI expulsion پی ٹی آئی سے نکالے جانے کے بعد شیر افضل مروت کے صحافیوں پر ذاتی حملےJournalist Sanaullah Khan alleges FIA blocking accounts of YouTubers and families صحافی ثناء اللہ خان کا انکشاف: ایف آئی اے یوٹیوبرز اور ان کے خاندانوں کے اکاؤنٹس بلاک کر رہی ہےA launch in style: Dr. Nauman Niaz unveils 'In A Different Realm' ان اے ڈفرنٹ ریلم کی رونمائی: ڈاکٹر نعمان نیاز کی کتاب Sindhi journalist AD Shar brutally murdered, PFUJ declares three-day mourning سندھی صحافی اے ڈی شر کا بہیمانہ قتل، پی ایف یو جے نے تین روزہ سوگ کا اعلان کر دیاAJK government registers case against newspaper and staff آزاد کشمیر حکومت کا اخبار اور عملے کے خلاف مقدمہJournalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges FIA threats, possible arrest over reporting صحافی آرزو کاظمی کا دعویٰ: ایف آئی اے کی دھمکیاں، رپورٹنگ پر ممکنہ گرفتاری

SAMDEN protests actions against Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and The Wire

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published April 04, 2020

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SAMDEN protests actions against Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and The Wire

NEW DELHI—Leading editors and media professionals from South Asia on Saturday protested actions against the media in Pakistan and India—the detention of Pakistani editor and publisher Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in Lahore and legal action against the independent Indian online portal, The Wire.

“The preoccupation of the world public and opinion makers with the COVID-19 pandemic has made it easier for those who want to try and gag critics in the media,” said the South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN), which is anchored by co-convenors from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

While the harassment and imprisonment of journalists have been a distressing trend in all the countries of South Asia over the past few years, SAMDEN said, “we have seen a sudden escalation in such actions over the past few weeks.” It described the actions against Rahman and The Wire as “representative of a trend across the region.”

Mir Shakilur Rahman is the chief editor and proprietor of Pakistan’s largest media group, encompassing The News, Jang and Geo TV. The action against him is based on a 34-year old property transaction.

Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau detained Rahman, in violation of its own rules that do not allow arrest at the stage of verification. “The authorities appear to be dragging this case out to teach the media a lesson,” SAMDEN said.

Rahman’s arrest and detention follow a string of attacks on him and his media group and its journalists by the Pakistani authorities and non-state elements over the past years. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Association of International Broadcasters have denounced this latest action.

Urgent appeals have been filed for his release to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression.

Editors of The Wire learnt of the case against their organization through social media. The First Information Report (FIR) registered by the police in Lucknow says that the online news organization reported that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath attended a public religious event in Ayodhya on March 25, after Prime Minister Modi had announced a national lockdown to counter the Coronavirus crisis.

“This report was factually correct and a matter of record, yet the police has made it the basis for a criminal case,” SAMDEN commented.

The Wire is one of a handful of India’s robust media voices. SAMDEN noted that the case came at a time when the central government has been trying to restrict media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The actions come at a time of heightened concern that rulers could use the COVID-19 crisis to suppress the news media, said SAMDEN, “at a time when South Asia and the world are facing an unprecedented public health challenge.”

“Such cases undermine the media at a time that it needs to be strengthened.”

SAMDEN, founded in 2017, has a membership of over 50 media professionals, including editors, reporters, right to information specialists, bloggers, and authors from across South Asia, Australia, and the UK. It is anchored in the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI).

Its co-convenors are Kanak Mani Dixit, Founder Editor of Himal magazine, Nepal, Mahfuz Anam, Publisher and Editor of the Daily Star of Bangladesh, Kumar Lopez, Executive Director of the Sri Lanka Press Institute, Beena Sarwar, Boston-based editor and filmmaker from Pakistan, and Sanjoy Hazarika, writer, columnist and international director of CHRI.

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