May 15th, 2012
The
dead body of a kidnapped
Pakistani journalist was discovered in Karachi last week. Tariq Kamal was kidnapped on 6 May, along with his friend Fawad Sheikh, who was also murdered. Kamal was visiting a dangerous area of Balochistan for an exclusive report when he was kidnapped. The journalist’s family received a call from him informing them he was going to be killed by his captors. His kidnappers
later contacted his family to inform them that Kamal and Sheikh were killed because they were police informants.
March 26th, 2012
Censorship in Pakistan has ranged from the ridiculous to the downright terrifying. But as the country entered a new phase in 1983, Salman Rushdie hoped for change
(more…)
February 3rd, 2012
Urdu-language television stations available via cable were
suspended in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan province on Wednesday, after the Cable Operators Association received threats from nationalist groups. Babark Khan, president of the Balochistan Cable Operators Association, told the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) that he received a threatening letter in writing from the Baloch Student Organisation on 31 January calling for the transmission of Urdu-language television stations to be halted and threatening consequences. The fraught region has faced separatist insurgency carried out by Baloch nationalists, who claim their grievances have been paid little attention by Pakistan media.
August 15th, 2011
Muneer Shakir, who worked for Online News Network and a Balochi television station called Sabzbaat,
was killed on 14 August in
Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The reason for his murder is still unclear. According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Shakir is the sixth journalist to be killed in Pakistan in 2011. They also say that, despite reporting threats against journalists in provincial regions, no preventative action has been taken.
