Pakistan ranks among deadliest countries for press as six journalists killed in 2024: CPJ

At least six journalists were killed in Pakistan in 2024, making it one of the deadliest years for the press in the country, according to the report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). 

CPJ revealed that the journalists were "killed in direct or suspected relations to their work.”

The report issued on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists stated that Pakistani journalists’ “answers provide a stark picture of Pakistan’s consistently deadly environment for the press.”

Six journalists were killed in three provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh, following Imran Khan’s ouster as prime minister in the year 2022. 

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#Pakistan is one of the deadliest countries for the press in 2024.@CPJAsia's @SonaliDhawan_ and Program Staff spoke with 10 Pakistani journalists and press freedom experts about how to pursue accountability for attacks on the media.🧵

Read the report: https://t.co/3OWBlcKak8 pic.twitter.com/1UylJ62mqv

— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) October 30, 2024

“Journalists Kamran Dawar and Khalil Jibran were killed in KP following threats by militants this year, Muhammad Siddique Mengal and Nisar Lehri were killed in separate attacks in Balochistan, while Nasrullah Gadani and Muhammad Bachal Gunio were murdered in Sindh,” the report stated. 

“Over the past few years, the overall law and order situation has worsened, and crimes against journalists have been on the rise,” CPJ quoted Adil Jawad, who investigates journalist killings in Pakistan.

The report stated that at least 39 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992. In 36 cases, nobody has been held accountable, and in three cases, some were caught, but the cases were ended without a conclusion. 

However, the Pakistani journalists believed that they would never see justice.