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
MUMBAI - Two fearless Asian women who have risked their lives campaigning against religious extremism - one of whom was murdered last month - won a joint award Thursday for their common courage.
Gauri Lankesh, 55, an outspoken Indian newspaper editor, was shot dead outside her home by unidentified assailants in the southern city of Bengaluru, at a time of rising nationalism and intolerance of dissent in the country.
"This award is a morale booster for people who want to write and fight," Lankesh's sister, Kavitha, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. "It honors what Gauri stood for - that you cannot silence me."
Lankesh shared the annual Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) Anna Politkovskaya Award with Gulalai Ismail (pictured), 31, a peace activist who has faced death threats for speaking out against the Taliban in northwest Pakistan.
Concerns about press freedom are mounting in India where journalists seen as critical of Hindu nationalists are often insulted on social media and women reporters have been threatened with assault.
"People are wondering if they should get into journalism at all," said Lankesh's sister. "There is an apprehension among people who want to do ethical work."
Lankesh, the editor, and publisher of a weekly Indian tabloid was a staunch critic of right-wing, political ideology.
She often wrote about religious violence, the malaise of India's hierarchical caste system and criticized the rise of hardline Hindu groups since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014.
Common courage
Nearly 1,500 miles (2,414 km) away in Pakistan's northern city of Peshawar, co-winner Ismail said she felt numb with grief when she heard about Landesh's murder.
"It was heartbreaking that an advocate of democracy, a courageous voice was silenced," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Peshawar.
"This award recognizes our common struggle and courage."
Ismail co-founded the advocacy group, Aware Girls when she was 16 to challenge violence and oppression of women in northwest Pakistan. She also trains young peace activists in a democracy to counter militant radicalization.
Ismail has been threatened with violence on social media, branded as Islamophobic for speaking out against extremism and accused of atheism.
"My home has been attacked twice," she said, describing how four armed gunmen tried to force their way into her home when she was delayed at the airport. "I have been branded a traitor."
The award marks the 11th anniversary of the killing of Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative reporter who uncovered state corruption and rights abuses, especially in Chechnya.
She was shot dead in the lobby of her Moscow apartment block at the age of 48 on October 7, 2006.
RAW in WAR, a London-based, non-governmental organization supporting women human rights defenders and victims of war also honored Rohingya refugee Jamalida Begum who spoke out publicly about her rape by Myanmar security forces. – Reuters/Photo: Reuters
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.