A dangerous profession
THE dangers that media professionals face in the line of their duty have been brought to light in the latest report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). In the report on journalists and media workers killed since 1990, IFJ analyzes the rising incidence of violence against journalists over the past 25 years. According to the report, 2,297 journalists and other media workers have been killed while covering different events like wars, revolutions, crimes and acts of corruption. Iraq tops the list with 309 murders, most of which occurred in 2003. Iraq is followed by the Philippines with 146 murders and Mexico (120) which in recent years has become one of the most dangerous countries for the exercise of the journalistic profession.
The American region is the third most dangerous in the world with a total of 472 media workers killed since 1990. Brazil ranks tenth in the list with 62 killings. Colombia (56 homicides), Honduras (39), Peru (36) and Guatemala (36) were also identified as being most dangerous for journalists. Since 1990, the Asia Pacific region registered the highest death toll at 571, followed by the Middle East with 473 killings, the Americas at 472, Africa at 424, and Europe with 357 dead. In 2015, ten journalists and staff died in France when militants attacked the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
The IFJ report is endorsed by several other surveys. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 44 media persons were killed in 2010 around the world. A recent report from the International Press Institute identified Latin America as the most dangerous region in the world to practice journalism. A separate report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says that 69 journalists were killed for their work in 2015, with 40 per cent at the hands of Islamic militant groups such as Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its annual report said that a total of 110 journalists were killed around the world in 2015, noting that while many died in war zones, the majority were killed in supposedly peaceful countries.
In the IFJ report, Pakistan has been ranked the fourth most dangerous country in the world for journalists, with a total of 115 killings since 1990. The uncomfortable truth is highlighted by the fact that as late as November 2015 TV journalist Hafeezur Rehman was shot dead by unidentified people in Kohat, only weeks after a fellow professional, Zaman Mehsud, was killed by gun-toting thugs in Tank district. As is the norm, the assailants in both instances escaped unchallenged after committing the crime and have not yet been apprehended. A report on the safety of Pakistani media professionals presents a bleak picture of the insecurity problems faced by them. Under the existing circumstances, those who kill, injure, abduct and threaten journalists are almost never punished.
The Report on the Safety of Media Workers, released by Pakistan Press Foundation on the International Day on Impunity, says that since 2001, 47 media workers have been murdered, 164 injured, 88 assaulted, 21 abducted and 40 detained. In addition, 24 media professionals died while covering dangerous assignments. There have been convictions in only two cases out of 384 cases of violence against media. It may also be noted here that Pakistan ranks ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists' global Impunity Index, which analyses countries where journalists are murdered and their killers roam free. The report calls upon the government to end its apathy and help change this situation. It asks the authorities to take action to ensure media workers carry out their professional duties in better conditions.