Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

A9
WORLD NEWS Thursday 27 december 2018

Pakistan’s journalists complain of increasing censorship

By KATHY GANNON Authorities are also target- with a facade of a demo- establishment at their will,” threaten the state, allega-
Associated Press ing social media, asking cratically elected govern- Chaudhry told The Associ- tions denied by the govern-
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Paki- Twitter to suspend accounts ment.” ated Press. ment.
stani journalists, who have and submitting thousands New legislation regulating \“Incitement of hatred is Dawar said newspapers
taken on military dictators have refused to carry their
and been beaten and statements or cover their
jailed in the pursuit of a free press conferences.
press, say they now face Chaudhry said coverage
a form of censorship that of PTM is restricted because
is more subtle but no less “we have fought a war in
chilling, one spearheaded that area.”
by the security services. “The population is in pro-
Journalists and press free- cess of settling down,
dom advocates say the (and a) narrative that cre-
military and the powerful ates hatred cannot be al-
Inter-Services Intelligence lowed,” he said.
agency, or ISI, are pressur- Steven Butler, Asia pro-
ing media outlets to quash gram coordinator for the
critical coverage. The new- Committee to Protect
ly elected government is Journalists, said Pakistan
meanwhile slashing its ad- has waged an “aggressive
vertising budget, squeezing crackdown” on the media.
a key source of revenue for “The crackdown comes
private newspapers and TV behind the scenes and is in-
stations. creasingly exerted through
Ghazi Salauddin, a veteran the owners of media prop-
Pakistani journalist who has erties,” he said.
witnessed successive pe- There are currently 89 pri-
riods of direct military rule, vate television channels
said today’s censorship is In this Thursday Dec. 20, 2018 photo, jobless newspaper workers protest near the Parliament, in licensed by the govern-
the worst it’s ever been. Islamabad, Pakistan. Associated Press ment. Most of the privately-
“Today we don’t know owned channels emerged
what will annoy them,” he of requests to Facebook print and online media has the only area that we inter- in just the last 15 years and
said of the military. “To- to take down pages for a also alarmed press free- fere.” are owned by big business-
day we have to do self- variety of reasons, ranging dom advocates, who fear But journalists say the in- es, said Mohammad Ziaud-
censorship and that is the from criticism of the military it will grant authorities even terference goes much fur- din of the Pakistan Press
worst kind of censorship, to propagating hate and more censorship tools. ther, and has worsened Foundation, a free press
because it is done out of insulting Islam. Information Minister Fawad since July’s national elec- advocacy group.
fear.” Taha Siddiqui, an opinion Chaudhry denies the gov- tions. They say intelligence “The new entrants in the
Websites have been shut writer and journalist who is ernment is cracking down agents have called report- media are business people.
down, including the Urdu critical of the security ser- on press freedoms, saying it ers to demand that opin- They got into the media in-
website of the U.S. gov- vices, lives in self-imposed only acts to prevent incite- ion pieces be withdrawn dustry not to make money,
ernment-funded Voice of exile in France after an at- ment to violence. Pakistan and to quash investigative not to serve the public, but
America, after it reported tempt on his life earlier this has banned coverage of reports on allegations that to have clout,” he said,
on a tribal movement criti- year, which he blamed on the hard-line Tehreek-e- the military intervened in making them vulnerable to
cal of military operations the ISI. He said Twitter sus- Labbaik movement after the vote to help elect Prime intimidation and financial
in regions bordering Af- pended his account twice it held violent protests and Minister Imran Khan. coercion.
ghanistan. Mashaal Radio, in 72 hours, telling him it was threatened to kill a Christian The security establishment In the last two months, hun-
affiliated with Radio Free because of “objectionable woman who was acquitted is especially sensitive about dreds of journalists have
Europe/Radio Liberty, has content that was in viola- of blasphemy charges after coverage of the Pashtun been laid off as govern-
also been shut down. tion of Pakistani law,” with- years spent on death row. Tahafaz (Protection) Move- ment advertising — a key
Journalist Cyril Almeida was out elaborating. Blasphemy is punishable by ment, or PTM, which has source of revenue — has
charged with treason after Journalist Matiullah Jan, death in Pakistan, and the criticized the military’s ac- been drastically reduced.
he published an interview labeled “anti-state” by mere accusation can spark tions in the tribal regions. A rate schedule seen by
with Nawaz Sharif in which the military for his criticism deadly mob violence. Pakistan has long been the AP shows the govern-
the former prime minister of the judiciary and army, “Pakistan has the freest accused of covertly sup- ment was until recently
accused the Pakistani mili- called the crackdown “a media possible, and pow- porting the Afghan Taliban paying upward of $2,500
tary of aiding the militants systematic attempt by the erful media criticize the while waging a scorched- for a 60-second spot, which
who carried out the 2008 military and its intelligence government and even earth campaign against has now been reduced to
Mumbai attacks. agency to assert control agencies and (the) army homegrown extremists who $400 to $500.q