Freedom of the press in Pakistan

Freedom of the press in Pakistan is legally protected by the law of Pakistan as stated in its constitutional amendments, while the sovereignty, national integrity, and moral principles are generally protected by the specified media law, Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 and Code of Conduct Rules 2010. In Pakistan, the code of conduct and ordinance act comprises a set of rules for publishing, distributing and circulating news stories and operating media organizations working independently or running in the country.

The law of Pakistan (in media) maintains a hybrid legal system for independent journalism, while it prohibits media bias or misleading information under the certain constitutional amendments as described by the country's constitution. The media crime which is described by the country's criminal codes is recognized one of the unlawful act.

Nevertheless, freedom of the press in Pakistan is subject to certain restrictions, such as defamation law, a lack of protection for whistleblowers, barriers to information access and constraints caused by public and government hostility to journalists. The press, including print, television, radio, and internet are amended to express their concerns under the selected provisions such as PEMRA Ordinance 2002, Defamation Ordinance 2002, Broadcasting Corporation Act, 1973 and Code of Conduct for Media Broadcasters/Cable TV Operators. The Protection of Journalists Act, 2014 allows a journalist or media industries to cover any story and brought it to the audiences without impacting national security of the country.

To protect the intellectual, moral, and fundamental rights of the citizens, the government has taken several countermeasures to combat circulating junk news and restricting objectionable contents across the multiple platforms. The law of Pakistan prohibits spreading or publishing fake news through social or mass media, and could lead to imprisonment of a journalist or newspaper ban.^[1][2][3]

Journalists accuse the military and security agencies of suppressing negative publicity.^[4]

Global ranking[]

In 2020, Pakistan's press freedom rank dropped to 145 out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index, an annual ranking of countries published by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), an international non-governmental organization dedicated to safeguard the right to freedom of information.^[5] In 2019, the country's press freedom rank was recorded 142 in Press Freedom Index, making it a slight decline than in previous annual report.^[6] The Pakistan's global index rank was declined for several issues such as killings of journalists, restrictions imposed on news media, withdrawal of government ads threats, harassment, violation of independent journalism, detention, abduction, and frivolous lawsuits against journalists.

Targeting victims such as physical abuse against journalists and prejudice is one of the other reasons for the decline in the world ranking index. The annual report stated declination of rank for several unlawful reasons such as written and verbal threats of murder, offline and online harassment. The report argued self-censorship in the country.^[7]

Reactions[]

The prime minister of Pakistan in his speech during a visit to the United States criticised the report published by the Reporters Without Borders citing "curbs on press freedom in Pakistan was a joke". His remarks on global annual report was subsequently criticised by the RWB.^[8]

Censorship on press[]

The government of Pakistan is often argued for carrying self-censorship and detentions of the journalists under a single-issue politics.^[9][10] Sometimes, only news that favours the regime is published by the local media, whilst news that covers the economic and political problems in the country, or criticisms of the regime faces threatened warnings from the state. The print and broadcasting media claims carrying stories under the political pressure since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a major political party in Pakistan came into power.^[11][12]

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, a nonprofit organization of Pakistan dedicated to safeguards of journalists and media outlets argued Pakistan's direct and self-censorship and state-sponsored hostility towards independent journalists working in the country. In the recent years (around 2018 or 2019), seven journalists were killed while fifteen others were injured in different violences. In Pakistan, sixty journalists were allegedly charged under Anti-Terrorism Act. The government, however, cited the issue with the country's law and order. In 2019 or earlier, the administration, first time in the history of Pakistan temporarily banned a journalist for possessing the material unlawfully.^[13] The federal government-owned agency Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), responsible for regulating and issuing channel licenses for establishment of the mass, print and electronic media, restricted some news presenters from participating in debates on Talk shows, and later the restrictions were lifted after sixty days.^[14]

In 2019, the government suspended news TV channels, including Channel 24, Abb Takk News, and Capital TV for broadcasting opposition party's program on their channels. The Reporters Without Borders criticised the action citing "brazen censorship". The government, however, suspended under a set of new laws for media regulator in an attempt to restrict press conference by a convicted or on-trial politicians.^[15]

Cult of personality[]

The media have consistently upheld the personality cult of the leaders since the country's formation. The journalists in the country have experienced troubles during the military dictatorship, the PTI government led by Imran Khan, however, partially restored independent journalism. Sometimes, Imran Khan's government is argued for direct censorship following the Balochistan conflict.^[16][11] In 2011, the tenth and the former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf is often claimed for expanding independent journalism in the country. He is also argued for banning the television news channels during 2007 Pakistani state of emergency.^[17]

References[]