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Pakistan Vows to Improve Journalists’ Freedom and Safety Pakistan Vows to Improve Journalists’ Freedom and Safety
(about 2 hours later)
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan promised on Wednesday to improve journalists’ safety and freedom to work, saying his government would investigate targeted violence, ease visa and travel restrictions, and immediately review the blacklisting of The New York Times’s Pakistan bureau chief, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists advocacy group.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan promised on Wednesday to improve journalists’ safety and freedom to work, saying his government would investigate targeted violence, ease visa and travel restrictions, and immediately review the blacklisting of The New York Times’s Pakistan bureau chief, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists advocacy group.
The Times reporter, Declan Walsh, was abruptly expelled from Pakistan during national elections last May after the Interior Ministry canceled his visa with no explanation.The Times reporter, Declan Walsh, was abruptly expelled from Pakistan during national elections last May after the Interior Ministry canceled his visa with no explanation.
Since then, officials have denied or ignored The Times’s repeated requests to reinstate Mr. Walsh’s visa, despite a promise by Mr. Sharif during a meeting in September with Times journalists in New York to review the case. Mr. Walsh, who lived and worked in Pakistan for nine years before his expulsion, continues to cover the country from London.Since then, officials have denied or ignored The Times’s repeated requests to reinstate Mr. Walsh’s visa, despite a promise by Mr. Sharif during a meeting in September with Times journalists in New York to review the case. Mr. Walsh, who lived and worked in Pakistan for nine years before his expulsion, continues to cover the country from London.
“I’m encouraged that Prime Minister Sharif has promised, again, to take action on Declan’s case, and that he has reaffirmed how important it is for Pakistan to do a better job in protecting journalists’ safety and access,” said Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The Times. “Too many journalists there have been illegitimately frozen out as we’ve been. And worse, for years, many have been intimidated or killed in the course of their work.”“I’m encouraged that Prime Minister Sharif has promised, again, to take action on Declan’s case, and that he has reaffirmed how important it is for Pakistan to do a better job in protecting journalists’ safety and access,” said Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The Times. “Too many journalists there have been illegitimately frozen out as we’ve been. And worse, for years, many have been intimidated or killed in the course of their work.”
Representatives from the New York-based advocacy group met in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Wednesday with Mr. Sharif, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and other officials to address the risks to members of the news media in Pakistan.Representatives from the New York-based advocacy group met in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Wednesday with Mr. Sharif, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and other officials to address the risks to members of the news media in Pakistan.
The nation is among the deadliest for journalists, with at least 46 killed over the past decade, according to the advocacy group. Reporters are often beaten or intimidated, and in the vast majority of cases, their attackers are not prosecuted. In some cases, news organizations believe that members of the Pakistani security or intelligence forces have been involved in the abuses.The nation is among the deadliest for journalists, with at least 46 killed over the past decade, according to the advocacy group. Reporters are often beaten or intimidated, and in the vast majority of cases, their attackers are not prosecuted. In some cases, news organizations believe that members of the Pakistani security or intelligence forces have been involved in the abuses.
“This is a long-term problem in Pakistan for journalists who are investigating organized crime, the Taliban, Baluchistan — nearly any national security story,” said Joel Simon, the executive director of the committee and a member of the delegation to Islamabad. “It is an incredibly risky place for reporting.”“This is a long-term problem in Pakistan for journalists who are investigating organized crime, the Taliban, Baluchistan — nearly any national security story,” said Joel Simon, the executive director of the committee and a member of the delegation to Islamabad. “It is an incredibly risky place for reporting.”
At the meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Sharif promised to devote more resources to prosecuting such cases and to look into why the people who attack journalists have received near-total impunity. Of the 25 killings of journalists listed in a case file that the advocacy group presented to Mr. Sharif, only one — the killing of Wali Khan Babar in 2011, in which six people were convicted in March — has led to prosecution. At the meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Sharif promised to devote more resources to prosecuting such cases and to look into why the people who attack journalists have faced essentially no repercussions. Of the 25 killings of journalists listed in a case file that the advocacy group presented to Mr. Sharif, only one — the killing of Wali Khan Babar in 2011, in which six people were convicted in March — has led to prosecution.
Mr. Sharif also told the Interior Ministry to begin expediting visas for foreign journalists, and promised to ensure journalists were allowed more freedom of movement within the country. News organizations complain that the Pakistani government and military have used paperwork delays and tight limits on travel to punish or head off journalists working on stories unfavorable to them. Mr. Sharif also told the Interior Ministry to begin expediting visas for foreign journalists, and promised to ensure journalists were allowed more freedom of movement within the country. News organizations say the Pakistani government and military have used paperwork delays and tight limits on travel to punish or head off journalists working on stories unfavorable to them.
“The problem of long visa delays and travel restrictions has been a universal one for foreign journalists in Pakistan for years now,” Mr. Simon said. “What we got today was a very public commitment by Mr. Sharif to do something about it.”“The problem of long visa delays and travel restrictions has been a universal one for foreign journalists in Pakistan for years now,” Mr. Simon said. “What we got today was a very public commitment by Mr. Sharif to do something about it.”
More specifically, Mr. Sharif promised the review of Mr. Walsh’s case for The Times.More specifically, Mr. Sharif promised the review of Mr. Walsh’s case for The Times.
“Mr. Sharif seemed honestly open to engaging these issues. Now we wait and see what happens,” Mr. Simon said. “Everyone will be watching.”“Mr. Sharif seemed honestly open to engaging these issues. Now we wait and see what happens,” Mr. Simon said. “Everyone will be watching.”