The perils of reporting in Pakistan

By Huma Imtiaz, September 24, 2010 Friday, September 24, 2010 - 10:31 AM Share

It has been a terrible year for Pakistan, and 2010 has not spared journalists working in the country either. In September so far, three journalists have been killed, one has been beaten up and another tortured so severely that chills went up even the bravest journalist's spine. Six journalists have been killed in Pakistan this year alone, with the last casualty reportedly at the hands of the Taliban. Three Afghan journalists were recently arrested recently by Afghan or international forces on the other side of the border, as well. And the year isn't over yet.

In the first week of September, Pakistani journalist Umar Cheema was abducted and tortured in Islamabad, at the hands of unnamed criminals. After his release, he said his captors had warned him to "Stop writing against the government, if you cannot bear this torture." It is widely believed that his kidnapping and torture were at the hands of Pakistan's spy agencies, which have had a long and bloody history of quelling dissent. One only has to look at a list of what Cheema had been reporting on to connect the dots.

Writing in Dawn, columnist Kamran Shafi hits the nail squarely on its head.

We will never find out what happened to poor Umar Cheema because the Deep State does not want us to find out. It is a law, a country, a nation, and a state unto itself all rolled up in one, independently sprung as it is due to the billions of rupees it forcibly purloins from the hapless government of Pakistan on pain of imminent death and worse.

In a telephone interview, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said that a joint investigation team (JIT) and a judicial commission have been set up to investigate Umar Cheema's case, where the team also includes, for the first time a private individual -- a representative from the Jang Group so that they can ensure transparency. The JIT also includes people from the Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, and the ISI. "The Government is serious about investigating this case. It is a democratic government and this cannot happen. We want to investigate the facts and catch the culprits."

Browsing through the Committee to Protect Journalists' Pakistan page is a depressing experience. Scores of names, some killed at the hands of gunmen, others in suicide bombings. While many would say that journalists too are part of the population that cannot remain untouched from the violence that has devastated Pakistan, in many cases these deaths could have been avoided, and in some cases, media organizations must share the blame.

While no journalist, myself included, would want to walk around with a security guard on the job, media organizations must ensure that reporters, especially those covering sensitive occasions such as religious processions or military operations, are given adequate protection. Even at the largest privately run media organizations, reporters are unaware of basic first aid training. This must be made compulsory by the organizations, as must be the standard gear -- bulletproof jackets and helmets. The cost of buying the equipment is surely not dearer than the cost of a human life.

Qamar Zaman Kaira agrees that journalists cannot walk around with guards and that the security situation in the country is not unknown to anyone, but says they have asked the journalism community to tell them what security measures can be provided from the government. "The Interior Ministry is clearing the release of bulletproof jackets that have been imported and were at the airport, and we're also providing 100 more jackets. Additionally, the Ministry is providing safety training as well to journalists."

Fahad Desmukh, a freelance journalist, says, "Something needs to be done to deal with the cutthroat competition that forces journalists, cameramen and even the drivers to take needless risks. Journalists should not be penalized for walking away from a dangerous assignment. Right now, the owners care more about protecting their cameras, vehicles and equipment rather than the lives of their employees."

Secondly, while the government can only do so much to improve the security situation (and their efforts in this regard are an entirely different post altogether), we must remember that there is, at least on the surface, a civilian, democratic government in place. While the influence and the power of the shadowy intelligence agencies is not hidden from anyone, and it is clear that they often act without any directions from the government, it would send a reassuring message to journalists reporting in Pakistan if the Pakistani government carried out a fair and thorough investigation into Umar Cheema's abduction. It is also high time that the government ensures that media organizations implement necessary safety measures, so that every time we go out in the field, we are not wracked with fear that we're risking life and limb for a story without an iota of preparation.

Huma Imtiaz works as a journalist in Pakistan and can be reached at huma.imtiaz@gmail.com.

PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

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VIDYUT

4:04 PM ET

September 24, 2010

Bulletproof jackets and helmets?

Bulletproof vests could be hidden under clothing, but helmet? The journalists might as well carry placards - "Journalist here. Bomb me for better coverage."

MARTY MARTEL

12:29 AM ET

September 26, 2010

What else is new?

It is NOT just reporters who are in peril in Pakistan as Huma Imtiaz has to know.

Only Sunnis Muslims who support the cause of jihad against infidels are safe in Pakistan, everyone else who opposes jihad as preached by Mohammed in Koran is in peril.

The aim of Sunni Wahabi fundamentalist Islamists is to wipe out all opponents of Sharia as promulgated by Mohammed in late seventh century and establish a ’pak (pure)’ Islamic state with 100% Fundamentalist Islamists.

And those fundamentalists are inching towards that goal every passing day.

The main-stream educational system in Pakistan is radicalized by Islamic teaching that projects Islam as the only savior in the world. Pakistan is suffering from ‘Saudization’ of its society by the education system that was revised in 1976 by the act of its parliament that, like Saudi Arabia’s system, provides an ideological foundation for violence and future jihadists. It demands that Islam be understood as a complete code of life, and creates in the mind of a school-going child a sense of siege and embattlement by stressing that Islam is under threat everywhere.

For all his hypocritical talk of “enlightened moderation,” General Musharraf’s educational curriculum was far from enlightening. It was a slightly toned down version of the curriculum that existed under Nawaz Sharif which, in turn, was identical to that under Benazir Bhutto who had inherited it from General Zia-ul-Haq. Fearful of taking on the powerful religious forces, every incumbent government has refused to take a position on the curriculum and thus quietly allowed young minds to be molded by fanatics.

The promotion of militarism in Pakistan’s so-called “secular” public schools, colleges and universities had a profound effect upon young minds. Militant jihad became part of the culture on college and university campuses. Armed groups flourished, they invited students for jihad in Kashmir and Afghanistan, set up offices throughout the country, collected funds at Friday prayers and declared a war which knew no borders.

Not long ago, Pervez Hoodhbhoy, a professor in Islamabad University wrote the following:

For three decades, deep tectonic forces have been silently tearing Pakistan away from the Indian subcontinent and driving it towards the Arabian peninsula. This continental drift is not physical but cultural, driven by a belief that Pakistan must exchange its South Asian identity for an Arab-Muslim one. This change is by design. Twenty-five years ago, the Pakistani state used Islam as an instrument of state policy. Prayers in government departments were deemed compulsory, floggings were carried out publicly, punishments were meted out to those who did not fast in Ramadan, selection for academic posts in universities required that the candidate demonstrate a knowledge of Islamic teachings and jihad was declared essential for every Muslim. Today, government intervention is no longer needed because of a spontaneous groundswell of Islamic zeal. The notion of an Islamic state – still in an amorphous and diffused form – is more popular now than ever before as people look desperately for miracles to rescue a failing state.