Pakistan

2016

  
Dutch journalist Okke Ornstein, pictured in a prison compound in Panama, was jailed for criminal defamation. (CPJ/Jan-Albert Hootsen)

CPJ Highlights: 2016 Edition

CPJ helps secure release of over 50 imprisoned journalists On December 23, Okke Ornstein walked out of prison.

Read More ›

Journalist killings ease from record highs as murders down, combat deaths up

Deadly violence against the media eased in 2016 from recent record levels as the number of journalists singled out for murder declined. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser and Elisabeth Witchel

Read More ›

President François Hollande speaks at the opening of the Open Government Partnership summit in Paris in December, where press freedom was added to the agenda. (Jacky Naegelen/Pool/AFP)

Press freedom on OGP agenda as authoritarianism rises

There was poignancy to the Paris summit of the Open Government Partnership, as leaders from government and civil society took the stage to defend a political ideology under siege: liberal democracy. French President François Hollande, who amid weak public support announced he will not seek re-election in 2017, called democracy “so fragile and so precious.”…

Read More ›

CPJ Highlights: November edition

Note to our readers: CPJ plans to intensify our documentation of press freedom violations in the United States, following the election on November 8, 2016, of Donald Trump as president. During his campaign, Trump verbally attacked journalists, restricted access, threatened lawsuits, and promised to make legal action against the media easier under his administration. We…

Read More ›

Getting Away With Murder

CPJ’s 2016 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free By Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Published October 27, 2016. Some of the highest rates of impunity in the murders of journalists can be attributed to killings by Islamist militant groups, CPJ found in its latest Global Impunity…

Read More ›

Number of journalists who covered corruption who were killed in relation to their work since 1992, by country. (Mehdi Rahmati/CPJ research)

Protecting journalists who cover corruption is good for the bottom line

Corruption is one of the most dangerous beats for journalists, and one of the most important for holding those in power to account. There is growing international recognition that corruption is also one of the biggest impediments to poverty reduction and good governance. This is why journalists on this beat must be protected, including by…

Read More ›

Pakistan imposes travel ban on columnist Cyril Almeida

New York, October 11, 2016 — Pakistan should immediately lift the travel ban imposed on columnist Cyril Almeida of the independent daily newspaper Dawn.

Read More ›

CPJ urges Pakistani officials to rescue Jang executive, keep other journalists safe

New York, September 29, 2016– The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the kidnapping of Abid Abdullah, executive director of the Jang media group, and called on Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety of journalists who the kidnappers explicitly threatened.

Read More ›

A man browses the internet at a cafe in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in this September 18, 2013 file photo. (Reuters/Faisal Mahmood)

Pakistani law could enable sweeping internet censorship

Bangkok, August 26, 2016 – Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain should veto a bill that could allow for sweeping censorship of the internet and the prosecution of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pakistan’s National Assembly approved the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 last week and sent it to Hussain to sign into…

Read More ›

Civil society activists in Peshawar pay tribute to the victims of a bomb attack on mourners at a hospital in Quetta, August 8, 2016. At least two journalists were killed in the blast. (AP/Mohammad Sajjad)

At least two journalists killed in Pakistan blast

Washington, August 8, 2016 — At least two journalists were among at least 70 people killed in a massive bomb blast at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, today, according to press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attack.

Read More ›

2016