According to New York Times, “It has been open season on journalists and critics of Pakistan’s military for years now. Disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, intimidation — all have been brought to bear, and in the vast majority of cases, no one has ever been brought to justice.”
After Saleem Shehzad, Hamid Mir, Raza Rumi and Umar Cheema, recently it was Taha Siddiqui. “Mr. Siddiqui is a 2014 winner of the Albert Londres Prix award, the French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, and has written articles for several international publications, including The New York Times. He has also been become known as a frequent critic of the military on social media. “It is public knowledge that the military establishment is annoyed with Taha’s Twitter activity,” said Iqbal Khattack, the Pakistan representative for Reporters Sans Frontieres. “What has happened is worrisome, but not surprising.”
According to Reporters without Borders 2017 World Press Freedom Index, Pakistan ranks 139 out of 180 countries. According to NYT “The threats to journalists and dissidents don’t end with the security agencies. Militants on both sides of the insurgency in Baluchistan Province, for instance, including sectarian groups who mainly fight on the military’s side of the conflict, are known for some of the most brazen attacks. In the past year, another avenue of threat has been opened up. Under a sweeping new cybercrimes law passed last January, the authorities have also begun warning or prosecuting journalists and online activists. And that same month, at least five activists known for internet posts critical of the military suddenly disappeared. Four have since been returned and live in exile abroad. Civil rights advocates, as well as people directly targeted by the authorities, have described actions under the new cybercrime law that included harassment, intimidation, and detention without access to lawyers or family members. In a few cases, physical abuse of those in custody was reported.”
