Media freedom in Pakistan is under constant threat from various sides. This includes applying pressure on independent media houses, their advertisers, their owners and individual journalists to “toe the line,” and not hold power to account. Pakistan’s censorship drive and attacks on press freedom have gathered pace under Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has sought to placate powerful conservative and religious constituencies. Journalists who are critical of government policies have been picked up, deprived of jobs and physically attacked. They have been targeted by the terrorist groups in the past. Recently Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have warned journalists to avoid using the term ‘terrorist’ for the group, or else they would be treated like ‘enemies.’
The IHC decision to frame contempt charges against The News journalists comes in this background. The court has maintained that before the publication of the report regarding the affidavit by former chief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Mohammad Shamim, no attempt was made by the investigative journalist to verify the material facts from the Registrar of the IHC or seek any legal advice regarding the status of a copy of a leaked document in the form of an affidavit. According to the judgment, the freedom of expression did not license a journalist or a publisher even inadvertently or unintentionally to facilitate influencing of pending proceedings or casting aspersions on judges in the garb of an affidavit which does not form part of any judicial proceedings.
In a plea filed later, The News investigative reporter who is arraigned in the case requested the IHC Chief Justice to delete a paragraph in the order which he said was based on clerical error or miscommunication on his part. He also said he published the story in good faith and added that it was not his aim to cast aspersions on judges or influence the proceedings of pending cases.
As a reaction to the enormous restrictions on media, individual journalists too can sometimes lose a sense of balance. While they need to be reprimanded, any severe action against them could weaken the struggle for media freedom. It is in this spirit that HRCP and PILDAT have entreated the honourable court to annul the decision.
