RSF urges govt to address "signs of alarming deterioration" in press freedom

Amidst an increase in the cases of journalists’ murder, forced disappearance and abduction, Reporter Without Borders (RSF) urged Pakistan to adopt rapid measures to address the "signs of an alarming deterioration" in press freedom.

“What with murders of journalists, an enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, censorship and social media blocking, everything points to a very disturbing decline in press freedom in the first three months since the new federal and provincial governments took over at the start of March following elections in February,” the global press freedom watchdog said in a statement.

“The many press freedom violations reveal a climate of violence and a determination to censor that has little in common with the undertakings given by the political parties in their elections campaign manifestos, and the message of support for journalists by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” Célia Mercier, head of South Asia desk said. 

She added the process of suppressing the voices is becoming more visible.

The report stated that there were two cases of murder, one case of forced abduction, and two cases of arbitrary detentions were reported in three months.

It added that the absurd case against two journalists in Islamabad High Court led them to flee to the US, while YouTube Journalists were subjected to trumped charges in June 2023.

However, the country has also been witnessing a ban on X over national security grounds since the general election in early February.