All about Media

1. BOOK BY: Imtiaz Shahid's Mass Communication
Mirza Muhammad Yusuf's (A-one) Journalism today
MEDIA
President Pervez Musharraf's rule ushered in increased freedom for the print media
and a liberalization of broadcasting policies.
However, media rules were tightened in 2007 in the midst of an opposition
campaign against the president. The legislation gave the broadcasting regulator
more power to shut down TV stations.
Months later, under emergency rule, broadcasts of private TV stations via cable
were disrupted.
The expansion of private radio and television stations brought to an end more than
five decades of the state's virtual monopoly of broadcasting.
Television is the dominant medium, and licences for more than 20 private satellite
TV stations have been awarded, signalling increased competition for the state-run
Pakistan Television Corporation. But there are no private, terrestrial TV stations.
Many Pakistanis watch international satellite TV channels, via a dish or an often-
unlicensed cable TV operator.
Indian channels such as Zee TV and STAR TV are popular with those who can
receive them. The channels circumvent censorship in Pakistan that is far more
restrictive than in India.
Around 100 licences have been issued for private FM radio stations, although not all
of them have been taken up. Pakistan's media regulator has estimated that the
country can support more than 800 private radio stations. Private stations are not
allowed to broadcast news.
There are regular reports of private FM stations operating illegally, particularly in
the tribal areas of North-West Frontier Province. Some of the stations have been
accused of fanning sectarian divisions.
Pakistan and India regularly engage in a war of words via their respective media,
occasionally banning broadcasts from the other country.
The government uses a range of legal and constitutional powers to curb press
freedom. The shutting down of private TV news channels accompanied the
declaration of a state of emergency in late 2007, and the law on blasphemy has been
used against journalists.
Nevertheless, Pakistan's print media are among the most outspoken in South Asia.
The Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan estimated in March 2007 that
there were between three and five million internet users. The authorities filter some
websites. A small but growing number of bloggers write about political topics.
The press
• Daily Jang - Karachi-based, Urdu-language; largest-circulation daily

2. • Dawn - Karachi-based, largest-circulation English-language daily
• The Nation - Lahore-based, English-language daily
• The Frontier Post - Peshawar-based, English-language
• The News - English-language daily, published by Jang group
• Daily Ausaf - Islamabad-based, Urdu-language
• Daily Times - English-language
• Business Recorder - financial daily
• Pakistan and Gulf Economist - business weekly
• The Friday Times - Lahore-based weekly, English-language
Television
• Pakistan Television Corporation Ltd - state TV, operates PTV 1, PTV National, PTV
Bolan, PTV World
• ATV - semi-private, terrestrial network
• Geo TV - leading private satellite broadcaster, owned by Jang publishing group;
based in Dubai; services include Urdu-language Geo News
• Dawn News - private satellite broadcaster, owned by Herald group; first English-
language news channel
• Aaj TV - private satellite broadcaster, owned by Business Recorder group
• Indus TV - private, via satellite, runs Indus Vision, Indus Plus, Indus News, Indus
Music
• ARY Digital - private, via satellite; services include news channel ARY One World
Radio
• Radio Pakistan - state-run, operates 25 stations nationwide, an external service
and the entertainment-based FM 101 network, aimed at younger listeners
• Azad Kashmir Radio - state-run
• Mast FM 103 - private, music-based
• FM 100 - private, music-based
News agency
• Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) - state-funded
State of the Print Media in Pakistan: 2003-04
Compiled by Adnan Rehmat (adnan@internews.org)
Chronology of Violations
27 May 2003
Police prevented journalists from covering a protest by opposition legislators near
the Punjab
provincial legislature in Lahore. The next day the journalists boycotted proceedings
of the Punjab
Assembly, which was called off after ministers Chaudhry Iqbal and Raja Basharat
expressed
regret over the incident and promised action against the police officers responsible.
30 June 2003
A large police posse raided the office of Urdu language monthly journal Shahrag-e-
Pakistan in

3. Lahore, detaining editor-in-chief Khalid Mehmood Shah in the magazine office for
two days.
According to Shah, about 70 policemen attacked his office, searching for his brother,
the
spokesman for opposition political leader Shahbaz Sharif. He says the leaders of the
raid
roughed him up for the magazine’s alleged critical stance against the government.
8 July 2003
An additional district and sessions court of Peshawar in North West Frontier
Province convicted a
sub-editor of English daily The Frontier Post, Munawar Mohsin, in a blasphemy case
and
sentenced him to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000 (US$900). Judge Sardar
Irshad held
Mohsin responsible for publication of a blasphemous letter in the Post on 29
January 2001, which
triggered violent protests. Blasphemy is punishable by death under Pakistani law
but the
maximum sentence has never been applied.
10 July 2003
The government of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, imposed curbs on the
media as
part of its series of measures to deal with ethnic and sectarian tensions caused by a
recent bomb
explosion that killed dozens of people at a Shia mosque. An official notification
banned
newspapers from publishing news, articles, statements, photographs, editorials and
cartoons that
could “fan ethnic and sectarian tensions.” It asked editors, printers and publishers to
submit all
such material to the public relations director for scrutiny before publication.
23 July 2003
The government banned distribution of the international magazine Newsweek,
saying it contained
material “against Islam and the holy Quran.” A notification issued to this effect, and
mentioned in
the press, directed customs authorities to seize all copies of the magazine’s 28 July
2003 edition.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told BBC in an interview the action had
been taken
because “the article could create anxiety among Pakistanis, hurt their sentiments
and infuriate
them.” He said the action was approved by Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali.
15 August 2003

4. Police arrested Rasheed Azeem, correspondent for daily Intikhab, joint editor of
Roshnai, a
quarterly journal focusing on human rights, and president of Jhalawan Union of
Journalists, in
Balochistan province, for allegedly committing sedition. According to Javed
Gharshin, a police
official at the Crime Branch, Quetta, the arrest came on the orders of an intelligence
agency after
Azeem, affiliated with Balochistan National Party (Mengal faction), distributed in
Khuzdar city a
poster “depicting the army beating up Baloch natives.” Azeem remains in custody
after being
denied bail by the local court.
________________________________________
17 August 2003
The Pakistan government protested with the United States for the investigation of
Nayyar Zaidi, a
Washington
correspondent
for
Urdu
daily
Jang,
the
flagship
publication of Pakistan's largest media group, by the US Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI). A letter signed by Deputy Chief of Mission at Pakistan Embassy
in
Washington Mohammed Sadiq and sent to the State Department said Zaidi is a “very
senior and
respected
journalist
who
has
represented
his
newspaper in Washington for more than two decades” and that “the State
Department is well aware of his credentials.” According to Zaidi, three FBI agents –
Chris
McKinney, Heather Grow and Michelle Crest – visited his home in Prince
County, Virginia, on 20 February 2003 while he was away. They tried to
interrogate his 15-year-old son, Zain Zaidi, who telephoned him, but when he

5. arrived home the agents had left. They left a telephone number for Zaidi to
contact them. When Zaidi called the number, agent McKinney asked him to come to
the FBI’s
Washington field office, where the agent asked him several questions about his
personal, social
and religious activities. The agent had asked him to bring his telephone notebook
because he
claimed that Zaidi’s home telephone was used to make calls to 10 telephone
numbers in
Pakistan, India, China, the Netherlands and Thailand. The numbers “brush off”
against those
already under investigation for links to the events of 9/11, McKinney said. When
Zaidi met the
three agents at the field office, they released two numbers in Pakistan and China.
Zaidi says the
number in Pakistan is very similar to one of his newspaper’s fax numbers, to which
he sends
news stories. The Pakistani number was officially investigated by the embassy and
turned out to
be
a
disconnected
number for a bankrupt textile company. One of the agents, Grow, refused to disclose
all 10
numbers to Zaidi, saying she felt very uncomfortable doing so. Zaidi offered to
cooperate with the
FBI,
but
refused
to
give
them
his
telephone notebook and records unless the agents had legal grounds for
making the demand. Zaidi says that after the initial investigation, the FBI did not
contact him for
several months. However, on 8 August, two different FBI agents visited his home
while he was
away and left a message for Zaidi to call them. He called them on 11 August and left
three
messages, but the FBI never called back.
21 August 2003

6. Mahmudul Haq, the municipal administrator of Sheikhupura town in Punjab
province, filed police
cases against nine local journalists, including local press club president, Rana
Sarwar, and
secretary-general, Azeem Yazdani, claiming they had “interfered in official affairs.”
Haq was
reacting to articles published alleging that he and his city council staff members
were involved in
corrupt activities, including allegedly illegal charging for parking from the public at
a local park.
26 August 2003
The police arrested six journalists under terrorism laws during a visit of President
General Pervez
Musharraf to Hyderabad city of Sindh province. They were charged with disturbing
the peace and
committing violent acts. The journalists were covering a demonstration staged by
the women’s
wing of Sindh Chandia Welfare Association to coincide with the arrival of Musharraf
at Mehran
University in Jamshoro, where he addressed a meeting of vice-chancellors. The
journalists –
Nadeem Panwar, Hakim Chandio, Sharif Abro, Irfan Burfat, Shahid Khushk and Haji
Khan Sial –
were freed a few days later after journalists covering Sindh provincial legislature
proceedings
staged a walkout to protest the arrests and provincial ministers issued directives to
release them.
10 September 2003
________________________________________
Acting allegedly on the orders of the speaker of the North West Frontier Province
legislature, the
entire staff of the Assembly Secretariat attacked journalists covering the assembly
proceedings
after the latter were denied a meeting with the speaker and protested. Wielding iron
bars and
sticks, they damaged the motorcycles of the journalists. Police personnel stood by
and did not
intervene. The staff also assaulted a journalist in the speaker’s chamber in the
presence of Law
Minister Zafar Alam despite his protestations. The journalists then boycotted the
assembly
proceedings.

7. 18 September 2003
Two journalists from Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan – Nasrullah
Afridi,
correspondent for daily Mashriq, and Aurangzaib Afridi, correspondent for daily
Subah – were
detained and roughed up by Tanzeem Ittehad-e-Ulema, a fundamental organisation
outlawed by
the government, for reporting about their activities. They were freed after pressure
from influential
persons and have continued receiving threats. They have been warned “to fear for
your lives if
you don’t give up the idea of free press in the tribal areas.” Nasrullah is the president
and
Aurangzaib the vice president of the Tribal Union of Journalists.
26 September 2003
The authorities refused to accept a plea by Reporters Sans Frontieres for transfer to
hospital of
Rehmat Shah Afridi, former editor of daily papers The Frontier Post and Maidan,
who is in jail
awaiting execution for alleged possession and trafficking of drugs. Because of denial
of proper
medical attention, Afridi’s has developed a serious heart condition and lost a great
deal of weight.
Afridi, who is appealing the sentence, was arrested on 2 April 1999, and on 27 June
2001
sentenced to be hanged. He says he was convicted as an act of revenge by the Anti-
Narcotics
Force. The two papers had frequently exposed corruption, drug trafficking and
illegal arms sale
3 October 2003
Amir Bux Brohi, 30, correspondent for Sindhi daily Kawish and Kawish Television
News (KTN)
channel, known for his reports on rights violations by police and powerful local
figures in Sindh
province, was shot dead in Shikarpur by three gunmen. Brohi was stopped as he
returned from
the local police headquarters and shot at close range. Eyewitnesses said Brohi
quarrelled with
the assailants before they pumped five bullets in his chest. The identity and the
motive of the
killers have not been traced or ascertained.

8. 22 November 2003
Three unidentified assailants set fire to the car of Amir Mir, the senior assistant
editor for monthly
current affairs magazine Herald. The car was parked outside his house in Lahore in
Punjab
province. Mir claims he received a call the next day from a security agency warning
him “this was
only the beginning.” Mir had only recently resigned as editor of Independent, a
Lahore-based
weekly, under pressure from local government officials who accused the magazine
of carrying
articles “against the national interest.”
16 December 2003
Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, a Pakistani journalist, was arrested along with two French
journalists, Marc
Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, of the newsweekly L'Express, from Karachi. While
the
authorities denied they were holding Rizvi, they said the French journalists were in
custody for
visa violations and accused them of making a fake film showing allegedly fabricated
militant
activity on Pakistani territory by the Taliban group.
8 January 2004
________________________________________
A sentence of life imprisonment was awarded by a local court in Karachi in Sindh
province to Aziz
Qureshi, the accused in the bombing of the advertising office of daily Nawa-i-Waqt
in Karachi.
Four people, including a woman who was reportedly carrying the bomb, died in the
blast in the
Nawa-i-Waqt office on 6 November 2000. Qureshi was arrested on 2 March 2002
and pleaded
guilty.
12 January 2003
French journalists, Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, of the newsweekly
L'Express, were
freed after pleading guilty of visa violations and paying fines announced by a court
in Quetta, the
capital of Balochistan province. They were initially also handed six-month prison
sentence which
were waived. The authorities still denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Pakistani
journalist

9. Khawar Mehdi Rizvi.
24 January 2004
Pakistani authorities finally conceded they were holding Khawar Mehdi Rizvi and
formally
charged him with sedition, conspiracy, and impersonation. The maximum penalty
for the charges
is life imprisonment. The authorities said Mehdi aided French journalists, Marc
Epstein and Jean-
Paul Guilloteau, of the newsweekly L'Express, in preparing a n allegedly fake film
about militant
activity Pakistan, which had put the country in a bad light.
29 January 2004
Sajid Tanoli, 34, a reporter for daily Shumaal (North), was killed by Khalid Javed, the
mayor
(nazim) of Mansehra in the North West Frontier Province. Javed shot Tanoli five
times in broad
daylight on one of the town’s streets and fled. Tanoli was killed after he wrote an
article on 26
January about an allegedly illegal liquor business (banned in the province) run by
Javed. Enraged
by the article, Javed filed a libel suit against Shumaal on 27 January. Two days later
he shot
Tanoli dead.
24 February 2004
A bomb exploded outside the offices of Jang, the flagship publication of the country’s
largest
media group, in Quetta in Balochistan province, blowing out windows in
neighbouring buildings.
No one was injured in the blast at the Urdu-language daily. An unknown group
calling itself
Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility but gave no reason for the
attack.
25 February 2004
Arif Nizami, editor of the daily The Nation and executive editor of daily Nawa-i-Waqt
announced
the government has banned the placement of government advertisement in
newspapers
belonging to the Nawa-i-Waqt group of publications, one of Pakistan’s largest media
organisations. Nizami claimed the ban was a result of his group of publication’s
opposition to
government policies and said “negates the government claims that the Pakistan
media is freed.”

10. 29 February 2004
Hundreds of protestors from religious groups demonstrating against private TV
channel Geo for
airing an allegedly controversial episode of a popular religious programme attacked
the Karachi
Press Club, seriously wounding a guard and causing serious damage to the premise
and
property. Dozens of protesters scaled the press club’s walls, broke windows, beat up
guard
Mohammed Rafiq and ransacked the premises. Several journalists took cover in a
room on the
first floor. The protestors then tried to reach the premises of nearby Jang Group, the
parent
company of Geo TV, but were stooped by the police.
________________________________________
1 March 2004
In the small hours on 1 March, several unidentified armed men conducted
coordinated raids on
newspaper distribution points in various parts of Karachi in Sindh province. They
aimed their guns
at news vendors, forcibly took bundles of newspapers, set them ablaze and fled. No
explanation
was given and their identity has not been traced.
2 March 2004
About two dozen rioters broke into the building housing the offices of daily Jang and
Geo TV,
both belonging to the country’s largest media group, the Jang Group, in Quetta, in
Balochistan
province. Administrative records, newspapers and other materials were set ablaze.
The office
was closed for a holiday and no one was injured. The attack came after sectarian
clashes broke
out in the city.
4 March 2004
Shahbaz Pathan, a correspondent for daily Halchal, in Sukkur in Sindh province, was
kidnapped
by armed bandits as he played badminton with friends. He was taken, along with
one of his
friends, to the nearby Shah Belo forests, which is reportedly infested with bandits.
Shahbaz and
his brother Asad, who is the general secretary of the Sukkur Press Club, had
produced a
documentary on the activities of the bandits.

11. 27 March 2004
After being held by the authorities for over 100 days, during which he says he was
tortured,
Pakistani journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi was granted bail. Judge Hashim Kakar of
the anti-
terrorism court in Quetta, in Balochistan province, ordered his release on a surety
bond of Rs
200,000 ($3,500). Rizvi was freed the next day.
11 April 2004
Zulfiqar Khaskheli, a reporter in Nawabshah for Sindhi-language daily Ibrat, was
severely beaten
by police, affecting his eyesight and hearing. His thrashing was so severe that he had
to be
hospitalized, while being chained and handcuffed. Local police chief Sarwar Jamali
arrested
Khaskheli for reporting on gambling operations in the district under the district
police officer’s
command. He was released on bail.
21 April 2004
Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai was arrested in the tribal areas, where he was
working with
American reporter Eliza Griswold, who was later expelled from the country.
Griswold, a freelance
reporter and regular contributor to the American weekly The New Yorker,
Yousafzai, a stringer for
Newsweek magazine, and their driver were arrested at a checkpoint in Bakakhel,
near Bannu in
the North West Frontier Province, as they attempted to enter North Waziristan. The
American
journalist was wearing a burqa to avoid being identified. A few hours earlier, the
journalists had
been turned back at the Jandola checkpoint and not allowed to enter the South
Waziristan tribal
area. The two and their driver were questioned for several hours and then allowed
to return
towards Peshawar. But the authorities rearrested them near Bannu. Griswold was
expelled to the
US a few days later, but Yousafzai and his driver were still being held
incommunicado. Yousafzai
was working as a fixer for Griswold in the tribal areas. They did not have the special
authorization
demanded by the authorities since the start of the Pakistani military offensive

12. against armed
Taliban and al-Qaeda groups in South Waziristan. No foreign journalist has been
able to travel to
the region with official authorization. However, dozens of journalists from the tribal
areas and
Pakistani reporters have been able to work in the area freely.
________________________________________
The Fine Print in Pakistan Gets Blurry
There has been a major deterioration in the state of the print media in general and
the working
conditions for journalists in particular in Pakistan this past year. Murders,
kidnappings, arrests,
imprisonments, torture, attacks, imposed news blackouts – Pakistani journalists
have seen it all
this year. In a rollercoaster year that has seen their freedoms shrinking, they have
been charged
with some of the most serious crimes anyone can be tried in Pakistan – such as
blasphemy,
which carries the death penalty, and sedition, which punishes with life
imprisonment.
For the Pakistani print media, the culprits have been varied – Islamists, sectarian
parties, robbers,
elected public representatives – but the authorities have emerged as the
wrongdoer-in-chief by
far, representing a worsening of the environment in which journalists can practice
their
profession, as enshrined in and guaranteed by the constitution, to their natural
potentials, in
safety and without fear or favour.
Contrastingly, the electronic media in the country, in the same period, has seen a
drastic
improvement with the policy of liberalisation of the airwaves set in motion by the
military
government of President General Pervez Musharraf in 2002 and carried forward by
the elected
government of Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali, bringing in more and more private
players in
both the radio and television sectors.
About 60 private FM radio licenses had been issued by early 2004 and about a
dozen private
Pakistani TV channels had been accorded permission to go on air while literally
hundreds of

13. foreign channels promised in Direct-to-Home (DTH) bouquets by both the state and
private
sectors – massively increasing the number of alternative sources of independent
information for
Pakistanis who until recently had just the propagandist state-owned television and
radio to rely
on.
While the recent developments on the electronic media front are a cause, in large
measure, for
celebration, those in the print sector are grounds for antagonism and call for
demonstration from
all sectors of society in general and the government in particular the commitment to
upholding
complete journalistic freedoms so that the print media can play to its maximum
potential as the
guardian of public interest and act as an agent of accountability, and therefore, good
governance.
MURDER: In the period between 3 May 2003 and 3 May 2004 – the third of May
being the
International Press Freedom Day – two journalists were murdered in Pakistan. The
first was Amir
Bux Brohi, 30, correspondent for Sindhi daily Kawish and Kawish Television News
(KTN)
channel, known for his reports on rights violations by police and powerful local
figures in Sindh
province. He was shot dead on 3 October 2003 in Shikarpur by three gunmen. Brohi
was stopped
as he returned from the local police headquarters and shot at close range. The
second was Sajid
Tanoli, 34, a reporter for daily Shumaal (North), who on 29 January 2004 was killed
by Khalid
Javed, the nazim (mayor) of Mansehra in the North West Frontier Province. Javed
shot Tanoli
five times in broad daylight on one of the town’s streets and fled. Tanoli was killed
after he wrote
an article about an allegedly illegal liquor business (banned in the province) run by
Javed. In
neither case have the culprits been arrested, tried or punished.
BLASPHEMY: On 8 July 2003, a court in Peshawar in North West Frontier Province
convicted a
sub-editor of English daily The Frontier Post, Munawar Mohsin, in a blasphemy case
and
sentenced him to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000 ($900). Mohsin was

14. held responsible
for publication of a blasphemous letter in the Post on 29 January 2001, which
triggered violent
protests. Blasphemy is punishable by death under Pakistani law but the maximum
sentence has
never been applied.
ARRESTED: On 26 August 2003, the police arrested six journalists under terrorism
laws during a
visit of President General Pervez Musharraf to Hyderabad city of Sindh province.
They were
charged with disturbing the peace and committing violent acts. The journalists were
covering a
________________________________________
demonstration staged by a local women’s group to coincide with the arrival of
Musharraf at
Mehran University in Jamshoro, where he addressed a meeting of vice-chancellors.
The
journalists – Nadeem Panwar, Hakim Chandio, Sharif Abro, Irfan Burfat, Shahid
Khushk and Haji
Khan Sial – were freed a few days later after journalists covering Sindh provincial
legislature
proceedings staged a walkout to protest the arrests and provincial ministers issued
directives to
release them.
KIDNAPPED: On 4 March 2004, Shahbaz Pathan, a correspondent for daily Halchal,
in Sukkur in
Sindh province, was kidnapped by armed bandits as he played badminton with
friends. He was
taken, along with one of his friends, to the nearby Shah Belo forests, which is
reportedly infested
with bandits. Shahbaz and his brother Asad, who is the general secretary of the
Sukkur Press
Club, had produced a documentary on the activities of the bandits.
INTIMIDATION BY RELIGIOUS GROUPS: On 18 September 2003, two journalists
from
Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan – Nasrullah Afridi, correspondent for
daily Mashriq,
and Aurangzaib Afridi, correspondent for daily Subah – were detained and roughed
up by
Tanzeem Ittehad-e-Ulema, a fundamentalist organisation outlawed by the
government, for
reporting about their activities. They were freed after pressure from influential
persons and have
continued receiving threats. They have been warned “to fear for your lives if you

15. don’t give up the
idea of free press in the tribal areas.” On 29 February 2004, hundreds of protestors
from religious
groups demonstrating against private TV channel Geo for airing an allegedly
controversial
episode of a popular religious programme attacked the Karachi Press Club, seriously
wounding a
guard and causing serious damage to the premise and property. Dozens of
protesters scaled the
press club’s walls, broke windows, beat up guard Mohammed Rafiq and ransacked
the premises.
Several journalists took cover in a room on the first floor. The protestors then tried
to reach the
premises of nearby Jang Group, the parent company of Geo TV, but were stooped by
the police.
INTIMIDATION BY THE AUTHORITIES: On 25 February 2004, Arif Nizami, editor of
the daily
The Nation and executive editor of daily Nawa-i-Waqt announced the government
has banned
the placement of government advertisement in newspapers belonging to the Nawa-
i-Waqt group
of publications, one of Pakistan’s largest media organisations. Nizami claimed the
ban was a
result of his group of publication’s opposition to government policies and said
“negates the
government claims that the Pakistan media is freed.”
ATTACK: On 24 February 2004, a bomb exploded outside the offices of Jang, the
flagship
publication of the country’s largest media group, in Quetta in Balochistan province,
blowing out
windows in neighbouring buildings. No one was injured in the blast at the Urdu-
language daily. An
unknown group calling itself Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility
but gave no
reason for the attack.
NEWS BLACKOUT: On 10 July 2003, the authorities in Quetta, the capital of
Balochistan
province, imposed curbs on the media as part of its series of measures to deal with
ethnic and
sectarian tensions caused by a recent bomb explosion that killed dozens of people at
a Shia
mosque. An official notification banned newspapers from publishing news, articles,
statements,

16. photographs, editorials and cartoons that could “fan ethnic and sectarian tensions.”
It asked
editors, printers and publishers to submit all such material to the public relations
director for
scrutiny before publication.
SEDITION: On 15 August 2003, the police arrested Rasheed Azeem, correspondent
for daily
Intikhab, joint editor of Roshnai, a quarterly journal focusing on human rights, and
president of
Jhalawan Union of Journalists, in Balochistan province, for allegedly committing
sedition.
According to Javed Gharshin, a police official at the Crime Branch, Quetta, the arrest
came on
the orders of an intelligence agency after Azeem, affiliated with Balochistan National
Party
(Mengal faction), distributed in Khuzdar city a poster “depicting the army beating up
Baloch
natives.” Azeem remains in custody after being denied bail by the local court.
________________________________________
By far the most high-profile case of violation of media freedoms in Pakistan in the
past year was
that of Pakistani journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, who was charged, among other
things, with
sedition, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, for abetting
foreign
journalists in preparing an allegedly fake film “showing Pakistan in a bad light,” as
the authorities
put it. On 16 December 2003, Rizvi was arrested along with two French journalists,
Marc Epstein
and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, of the newsweekly L'Express, from Karachi. Rizvi was
acting as a fixer
for the French journalists. They had just returned from Quetta, the capital of the
Balochistan
province, which borders southeast Afghanistan, the stronghold of the Taliban. The
authorities
seized all filmed material from the journalists.
While the authorities initially denied they were holding Rizvi, they said the French
journalists were
in custody for visa violations – they had not been issued visas for Quetta, but for
Islamabad,
Lahore and Karachi only – and accused the duo of faking a report about armed
Taliban activities

17. along the Pakistani border with Afghanistan.
On 12 January 2003, Epstein and Guilloteau were freed after pleading guilty of visa
violations and
paying Rs 200,000 ($3,500) in fines announced by a court in Quetta, the capital of
Balochistan
province. They were initially handed six-month prison sentenced which were
converted into fines
on an appeal. The authorities still denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Rizvi, the
Pakistani
journalist assistant of the French journalists.
On 24 January 2004, the authorities finally conceded they were holding Khawar
Mehdi Rizvi and
formally charged him with sedition, conspiracy, and impersonation in an anti-
terrorism court in
Quetta. The maximum penalty for the charges is life imprisonment. Rizvi is charged
with violating
the sedition law under Pakistan’s Penal Code, Section 124-A, which is defined as
using speech
that “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to
excite
disaffection towards, the Central or Provincial Government established by law.” The
authorities
said Rizvi aided the two French journalists in preparing an allegedly fake film about
militant
activity Pakistan, which had put the country in a bad light.
After a concerted worldwide campaign by Pakistani and foreign journalists – over
3,000
journalists and media workers signed a worldwide petition drawn up by a
committee campaigning
for his release (www.freekhawar.org) – Rizvi was finally granted bail on
a surety bond of Rs
200,000 ($3,500) by Judge Hashim Kakar of the anti-terrorism court, who also
ordered his
release. Rizvi was freed on 29 January 2004. He has been allowed to live in his
hometown
Islamabad but will have to appear in person at each court hearing in Quetta, over
1,000 km away.
The whole Rizvi case raises troubling questions about the very nature of the work of
media
persons in Pakistan, putting in doubt the extent of who they can work with, what
kind of work they
can do, discriminatory trial treatment, pre-judgment as well as aspersions on both
their

18. professional work and personal life even before a court of law has had a chance to
try an
accused.
For instance, even though arrested together in the same case, the French journalists
were tried
only for violating visa rules and not for making the allegedly fake film about Taliban
militant
activities, for which Rizvi is being tried. So while the makers and sponsors of the
allegedly fake
film are let off with relatively small fines, the “abettor” – Rizvi – is slapped with a far
graver charge
of sedition, which can potentially land him in jail for life if found guilty.
The authorities initially denied even knowing about the whereabouts of Rizvi even
though state-
run Pakistan Television (PTV) had shown the Pakistani journalist with officials in
security uniform.
After over 100 days in custody, the authorities admitted they were holding him,
charging him and
presenting him in an anti-terrorism court. Under Pakistani law, the authorities must
present before
a magistrate within 48 hours anyone they have arrested to seek permission to
interrogate. In the
over 100 days of detention, Rizvi was neither produced before a magistrate nor
allowed access to
his family or a lawyer in violation of fundamental law of the land.
________________________________________
While he had no recourse to defend himself, Pakistani President General Pervez
Musharraf
personally cast doubt on the professional qualities of Rizvi on 29 December 2004,
much before
the authorities even conceded they were holding him. Musharraf told
representatives of the All
Pakistan Newspapers Society: “This freelance journalist has done terrible harm to
the national
interest in making this fake film on the Taliban and for only 2,000 dollars. If he had
come to me I
would have been able to give him 3,000 dollars not to make this film.” The
authorities even
questioned Rizvi’s credentials as a journalist even though he has worked for The
News, one of
Pakistan’s largest newspapers, TF1, France 2, Le Monde, Libération and Arte.
Rizvi appeared in court with two other men, Allah Noor and Abdullah Shakir,
accused of filming

19. what police said was a fictitious Taliban camp, conducting an interview with a man
who they
claimed was a middle-ranking Taliban commander. Rizvi and the French journalists
say the
interview is genuine; the authorities say it is a fabrication. They allege that Rizvi
intentionally hired
Noor and Shakir to impersonate members of the Taliban in video footage made by
the French
journalists. This footage of Noor and Shakir has been shown on state television,
PTV.
After being freed on bail, Rizvi said he had not broken the law and had “simply done
my job as a
journalist.” He thanked everyone who had campaigned for his release, especially
fellow
journalists in Pakistan and all over the world. “I now know the true value of press
freedom and will
continue my work as a journalist with renewed vigor,” he added.
GOOD NEWS: As far as justice for the media in a case of attack against it goes, the
only good
news came on 8 January 2004 when a sentence of life imprisonment was awarded
by a local
court in Karachi in Sindh province to Aziz Qureshi, the accused in the bombing of the
advertising
office of daily Nawa-i-Waqt in Karachi three years earlier. Four people, including a
woman who
was reportedly carrying the bomb, died in the blast in the Nawa-i-Waqt office on 6
November
2000. Qureshi was arrested on 2 March 2002 and pleaded guilty.
PAKISTAN Press, Media, TV, Radio, Newspapers
BASIC DATA
Official Country Name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Region (Map name): East & South Asia
Population: 144,616,639
Language(s): Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraki,Pashtu, Urdu (official),Balochi, Hindko, Brahui,
English
Literacy rate: 45%
Area: 803,940sq km, (796096 sq.miles)

20. GDP: 61,638 (US$ millions)
Total Newspaper Ad Receipts: 1,492 (Rupees millions)
As % of All Ad Expenditures: 22.60
Number of Television Stations: 22
Number of Television Sets: 3,100,000
Television Sets per 1,000: 21.4
Number of Radio Stations: 55
Number of Radio Receivers: 13,500,000
Radio Receivers per 1,000: 93.4
Number of Individuals with Computers: 590,000
Computers per 1,000: 4.1
Number of Individuals with Internet Access: 133,875
Internet Access per 1,000: 0.9
BACKGROUND & GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
General Description
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is celebrating 60 years of independence on 14th
august 2007. These years have often been turbulent ones, given that military rulers
have remained heads of state for about 36years of these 60 years. This fact has
affected the press and laws governing the press in Pakistan.
In 1947 when the British agreed to partition British India into the two self-
governing countries of India and Pakistan, only four major Muslim-owned
newspapers existed in the area now called Pakistan:
Pakistan Times, Zamindar, Nawa-i-Waqt, and Civil and Military Gazette, all located
in Lahore. However, a number of Muslim papers moved to Pakistan, including Dawn,
which began publishing daily in Karachi in 1947. Other publications moving to
Pakistan included the Morning News and the Urdu-language dailies Jang and Anjam.
By the early 2000s, 1,500 newspapers and journals exist in Pakistan, including those
published in English, Urdu, and in regional languages; and the press remains strong
and central to public life in spite of government efforts to control it.
NATURE OF THE AUDIENCE
As of July 2001, Pakistan's estimated population stood at 144,616,639, with men
slightly outnumbering women. Ethnic groups within the population include Punjabi,
Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, and Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of
partition and their descendants). Although Urdu is the official language of Pakistan,
only about 8 percent of the people speak it. Forty-eight percent speak Punjabi and 8
percent speak English, which is considered the lingua franca of Pakistani elite and
most government ministries. Other languages include Sindhi (12 percent), Siraiki (a

21. Punjab variant; 10 percent), Pashtu (8 percent), Balochi (3 percent), Hindko (2
percent), Brahui (1 percent), and Burushaski and others (8 percent).
Pakistan's press reflects this language diversity. Newspapers that publish in Urdu,
the national language of Pakistan, have a broader reach than the English-language
papers. According to London's Financial Times, the combined circulation of
Pakistan's entire English-language press is no more than 150,000 in a population
one hundred times that size.
In terms of distribution, the English-language papers seem to be skewed toward the
more liberal elite whereas the Urdu press appeals to the masses and includes
scandal sheets as well as respected journals, religious papers, and party organs.
Literacy seems to play a part in this distribution pattern. Only 42.7 percent of the
Pakistani population (age 15 and over) can read and write. However, many adult
literacy centers have been established in recent years; in addition, the People's Open
University was opened at Islamabad to provide mass adult education through
correspondence and the communications media.
Quality of Journalism: General Comments
The press in Pakistan holds significant power and has suffered much under various
political leaders, only to emerge resilient and more committed to freedom of speech.
The press's existence is remarkable given the often harsh means used by
government officials and military dictators to control it.
The press is, in fact, central to public life in Pakistan because it provides a forum for
debating issues of national importance. As the national English-language daily The
News notes, "[The press] has in fact replaced what think tanks and political parties
in other countries would do. Columnists engage in major debates and discussions on
issues ranging from national security to the social sector."
The competitive nature of politics helps to ensure press freedom, because the media
often serve as a forum for political parties, commercial, religious, and other
interests, as well as influential individuals, to compete with and criticize each other
publicly. Islamic beliefs, which are taught in the public schools, are widely reflected
by the mass media. Although the press does not criticize Islam as such, leaders of
religious parties and movements are not exempt from public scrutiny and criticism.
The press traditionally has not criticized the military; the Office of Inter-Services
Public Relations (ISPR) closely controls and coordinates the release of military
news.
In general, the quality of journalism is high. English language newspapers tend to
present more foreign news than Pakistani papers in other languages.
Physical Characteristics of Newspapers
The typical Pakistani newspaper is of regular rather than tabloid size, averaging

22. about 20 pages per issue. Most newspapers have a weekend, midweek, and
magazine section. All the leading newspapers, including Jang, Nawa-e-Waqt, Dawn,
The NationThe News International, and Business Recorder, have online editions.
Circulation Information
The All-Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) estimated that the total combined
circulation figure for daily newspapers and other periodicals was 3.5 million in
1997. Print media included 424 dailies, 718 weeklies, 107 fortnightlies, and 553
monthlies. Deficient literacy rates, urban orientation of the press, and the high price
of newspapers are considered primary factors contributing to low circulation rates.
Jang is the top daily newspaper with a circulation of 850,000. Nawa-e-Waqt holds
second place with 500,000, followed by Pakistan (279,000), Khabrain (232,000),The
News (120,000), Dawn (109,000), and Business Recorder (22,000).
The three most influential newspapers in Pakistan are the daily Dawn in English, the
daily Jang in Urdu, and the daily Business Recorder in the area of business and
finance. The average price of a newspaper varies from Rs 5 to Rs 15. For example,
Business Recorder costs Rs 7 per issue.
ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK
Overview of the Economic Climate & Its Influence on Media
Pakistan is a poor, heavily populated country, and the welfare of its people is
severely affected by internal political disputes, lack of foreign investment, and
ongoing problems with neighboring India. The majority of Pakistan's citizens are
heavily dependent on agriculture for employment. Despite steady expansion of
industry during the 1990s, Pakistan's economy remains dominated by agriculture.
In 1998, agriculture engaged 47 percent of the labor force and accounted for 24
percent of the gross domestic product as well as close to 70 percent of export
revenues.
Despite strong performances in the industrial and agricultural sectors, a growing
debt-servicing burden, large government expenditures on public enterprises, low
tax revenues, and high levels of defense spending contributed to serious financial
deficits. Besides a select few major groups, Pakistani media organizations face
chronic financial problems.
Newspapers are heavily dependent on advertising revenue as income. Revenues
from display advertising for all media amounted to US $120 million in 1998.
Television held the largest share of media advertising revenues at 40 percent,
followed by newspapers at 32 percent, magazines at 10 percent, and radio at 3
percent. Government agencies are the largest advertiser, accounting for 30 percent
of all advertising in national newspapers.
The government has considerable leverage over the press through its substantial
budget for advertising and public interest campaigns, its control over newsprint,

23. and its ability to enforce regulations. For example, the country's leading Urdu daily,
Jang, and the English-language daily News, both owned by Shakil Ur-Rehman, were
cut off for a time from critical government advertising revenue after publishing
articles unflattering to the government. The Jang Group was also served with
approximately US $13 million in tax notices, harassed by government inspectors,
and pressured not to publish articles. Jang also reportedly had difficulty obtaining
sufficient newsprint to publish.
Due to pressures from national and international organizations, the trend is toward
greater press freedom and democracy. Although the government is the press's
largest advertiser, privatization of major industries and banks is causing the
government to lose its control over the press and is attempting to counter this trend
by enforcing new restrictions.
NEWSPAPERS IN THE MASSEDIA MILIEU: PRINT VS. ELECTRONIC
Digicom, a private e-mail provider, brought Internet access to Karachi in 1995.
Nationwide local access was established within one year, and by 1999 was available
to 600,000 computers, 60,000 users by 3,102 Internet hosts. Internet capabilities
provided news media with a means for reaching overseas Pakistanis. All leading
newspapers, including Jang, Nawa-e-WaqtDawnThe Nation,The News International,
and Business Recorder, have online editions. In addition, Pakistan Broadcasting
Corporation and Pakistan Television Corporation both have web sites accessible to
the public.
Types of Ownership
Three main groups dominate Pakistan: the Jang Group, the Herald Group, and the
Nawae-Waqt Group. Jang Publications is the largest media group and holds a virtual
monopoly of Urdu readership in Sindh, Rawalpindi-Islamabad federal territory, and
major shares in Lahore and Quetta. Jang also publishes the largest circulating
weekly magazine in Urdu, Akhbare-Jehan, and two evening papers, the Daily News
andAwam. The News, the first Pakistani newspaper to use computers in all steps of
production, is also a publication of the Jang Group.
Pakistan Herald Publications Ltd. publishes Dawn, which has had a dominant hold
over Karachi readership. The Herald Group also publishes the Star (an English
evening paper) and The Herald (an influential English monthly). The group also
began a monthly that focuses on the Internet, entitled Spider. Publications under the
Herald Group target the upper class and the better-educated segment of Pakistani
society and consequently practice a liberal editorial policy.
The Nawa-e-Waqt Group publishes Nawa-e-Waqt and also started The Nation, an
English daily. This group also publishes Family, an Urdu weekly.
Several other significant groups and independent publications also exist. The
notable daily newspaper chains that have started during the late 1990s and early

24. 2000s include Khabrain, PakistanAusaf, and Din. The Frontier Post, Business
Recorder, and Amn are also other important dailies.
Political parties own two major newspapers: the Jasarat, controlled by the
conservative Jannat-e-Islami, and Mussawat, controlled by the Pakistan People's
Party.
From 1964 into the early 1990s, the National Press Trust acted as the government's
front to control the press. The state, however, no longer publishes daily
newspapers; the former Press Trust sold or liquidated its newspapers and
magazines in the early 1990s.
Distribution Networks
The majority of Pakistan's newspapers and magazines strive for national
readership. Such major successful dailies are published simultaneously from a
number of cities and are produced in different languages to facilitate distribution
throughout the country's various regions. Distribution is through a network of
newspaper hawkers; in smaller towns, hawkers also serve as stringers for
newspapers. Buses are used for nearby distribution and airfreights are utilized for
faraway cities when schedules permit.
Newsprint Availability
Pakistan's various governments have used newsprint availability as a means to
control the Press. In the recent past, import of newsprint by the print media was
subject to issuance of permits by the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This practice allowed the government to
patronize sections of the press.
In April 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's government decided to end this
manipulative practice. By replacing the permit system with a free and open import
of newsprint at market prices, the government removed its interventionist
dimension in controlling an essential raw material for the press and also ended the
corruption that had grown up around the issuance and receipt of the newsprint
import permits.
In 1991, however, the first government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif restored the
system of issuing permits. The Audit Bureau of Circulation, which functions under
the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, was responsible for assessing the
circulation and print orders of newspapers and magazines and issuing certificates
legitimizing these figures. The bureau certificates became the basis on which
journals were able to import proportionate quantities of newsprint and secure
government-controlled advertising through the clearance given by the Press
Information Department. Corrupt practices have been associated with the ABC
operation.

25. The current government of General Musharraf has considerable leverage over the
press through its control over newsprint, its substantial budget for advertising and
public interest campaigns, and its ability to enforce regulations.
Influences on Editorial Policies
Privately owned newspapers freely discuss public policy and criticize the
government. They report remarks made by opposition politicians, and their
editorials reflect a wide range of views. The effort to ensure that newspapers carry
their statements or press releases sometimes leads to undue pressure by local
police, political parties, ethnic, sectarian, and religious groups, militant student
organizations, and occasionally commercial interests. Such pressure is a common
feature of journalism and can include physical violence, sacking of offices,
intimidation and beating of journalists, and interference with distribution of
newspapers. Journalists working in small provincial towns and villages encounter
more difficulties from arbitrary local authorities and influential individuals than
their big-city counterparts do. Violence against and intimidation of journalists,
however, is a nationwide problem.
Government leaks, although not uncommon, are managed carefully; it is common
knowledge that journalists, who are routinely underpaid, are on the unofficial
payrolls of many competing interests, and the military (or elements within it) is
presumed to be no exception. For example, according to the All Pakistan Newspaper
Society, favorable press coverage of the Prime Minister's family compound south of
Lahore was widely understood to have been obtained for a price. Rumors of
intimidation, heavy-handed surveillance, and even legal action to quiet the unduly
curious or nondeferential reporter are common.
Special-interest lobbies are not in existence in Pakistan as in the United States and
elsewhere, but political pressure groups and leaders include the military, ulema
(clergy), landowners, industrialists, and some small merchants.
Industrial Relations and Labor Unions
Several unions represent Pakistani newspapers and their respective journalists.
Editors and other management-level employees belong to the All Pakistan
Newspaper Society and/or the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors. Other
employees, including reporters, belong to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists
(PFUJ) and/or the All-Pakistan Newspaper Employees' Confederation (APNEC).
These groups have been actively involved in reviewing the government's draft of the
Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance 2002 and the draft of Press, Newspaper
Agencies Registration Ordinance 2002. APNEC and PFUJ and all their affiliated
unions and units rejected the proposed setting up of a press council and press
regulatory laws that the government decided to introduce to regulate the press.
Journalists objected to the inclusion of government representatives and the
exclusion of working journalists from what was supposed to be a self-regulating

26. rather than government-directed body. Previous legislation created under Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto included a new wage board under the Newspaper
Employees (Conditions of Service) Act 1973. Several years had lapsed since the
previous award had been announced. Inflation as well as the preference of certain
newspaper publishers to engage staff only on a contract basis meant that wages
were no longer reflective of the cost-of-living realities. One media scholar estimated
that well over 50 percent of newspaper employees are deliberately employed on a
contract basis to avoid the enforcement of relevant industrial relations laws and
awards by wage boards. In fact, at a 2002 World Press Freedom Day seminar in
Karachi, journalist Sajjad Mir stated that very few newspapers in the country had
implemented the Wage Board Award for journalists and employees.
Printing Methods
Newspapers in Pakistan are mostly printed on offset. Printing and editing
technologies have improved newspaper production over the years; however, the
impact on circulation has not been significant.
PRESS LAWS
Constitutional Provisions & Guarantees
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan provides for its citizens'
fundamental rights, one of which pertains specifically to the Press, Article 19,
Freedom of Speech:
Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall
be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the
interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defense of Pakistan or any
part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality,
or in relation to contempt of court, commission of or incitement to an offense.
The Constitution of Pakistan, then, guarantees the freedom of expression and
freedom of the press, subject to "reasonable restrictions" that may be imposed by
law. It is the responsibility of the judiciary to determine the scope and parameters of
the permissible freedoms and the extent of restrictions placed on their enjoyment.
The judiciary can play a full and effective role only if it is free and independent of
any and every kind or form of control or influence. Although the judiciary has
generally been supportive of the freedom of expression and information, and sought
to strengthen the mass media, the courts are subject to pressure from the executive
branch because the president controls the appointment, transfer, and tenure of
judges. The position of the judiciary has been affected by periods of military rule,
and a blow was dealt to the judiciary in January 2000 when Musharraf required all
judges to take an oath of loyalty to his regime. The Supreme Court Justice and five
colleagues refused and were dismissed. This was just one week before the Court
was to hear cases challenging the legality of Musharraf's government.
The constitution also outlines the power of the president to promulgate ordinances
and to suspend fundamental rights during an emergency period. Thus, following

27. Musharraf's military takeover on October 12, 1999, he suspended Pakistan's
constitution and assumed the additional title of Chief Executive. He appointed an
eight-member National Security Council to function as the supreme governing body
of Pakistan. He dissolved both the Senate and the National Assembly.
New legislation has been drafted for the formation of Press Council, Access to
Information Ordinance and Press, Newspapers and Books Registration Act. On May
16, 2002, the Minister of Information, along with the Council of Pakistan Newspaper
Editors and the All Pakistan Newspaper Society, released drafts for the legislation
for comment and debate. Newspaper editors also urged that the Freedom of
Information Act and the amended Registration of Printing Press and Publication
Ordinance be promulgated by the government, along with the Press Council
Ordinance. The International Press Institute (IPI) identified major concerns
including the desire to create a quasi-judicial body without proper procedures in
place to provide fairness and equity. The IPI also expressed reservations about the
proposed composition, its financing, and the terminology used in describing the
ethical code, and made a number of recommendations for improving the draft
ordinance.
The PFUJ and the APNEC reacted in similar ways to the proposed legislation. In a
joint statement issued on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, leaders of the two
organizations said they regretted that the Press and Publication Ordinance against
which the journalists' community had striven for almost two decades had once
again been revived and newspapers were being closed down under the same black
law. The statement said fresh attempts in the shape of the Press Council were being
framed by Musharraf's government to silence the voice of the print media in the
country. They said the PFUJ and APNEC had already rejected the idea of setting up
the council and that news people were still being subjected to different pressure
tactics, including threats to their lives. They demanded that the government repeal
more than 16 black laws, including the Press and Publication Ordinance, and to
insure implementation of the labor laws by ending exploitation of the working
journalists and newspaper workers. They also called for enforcing the Freedom of
Information Act to ensure easy access to information.
The only other press laws in effect while the current proposed press laws are under
review are general ones prohibiting publication of obscene material, inciting
religious, parochial, or ethnic provocations, and anti-defamation provisions.
Registration and Licensing of Newspapers & Journalists
A Print, Press and Publications Ordinance, requiring the registration of printing
presses and newspapers, was allowed to lapse in 1997 after several years of waning
application. In practice, registering a new publication is a simple administrative act
and is not subjected to political or government scrutiny. There are no registration or
licensing processes for journalists. New newspapers and presses are required to
register themselves with the local administration.

28. CENSORSHIP
Censorship pervades journalism history in Pakistan; certainly, the blackest
censorship period came during General Zia's 10-year military regime. Almost all
journalists mention the press advice system as one of the most insidious means of
censorship. It specified that whoever "contravenes any provision of this regulation
shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to ten years, and
shall be liable to fine or stripes [lashes] not to exceed twenty-five." Sharif used
additional means to ensure press compliance. He used intelligence operatives to
infiltrate newsrooms and press unions. With so many spies doubling as reporters,
and journalists moonlighting as government agents, trust became difficult for all.
Monitoring of the Press
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting monitors the press. It also controls
and manages the country's primary wire service, the Associated Press of Pakistan
(APP). APP is both the Govern-ment's own news agency and the official carrier of
international wire service stories to the local media.
Foreign books must pass government censors before being reprinted. Books and
magazines may be imported freely, but are likewise subject to censorship for
objectionable sexual or religious content. English language publications have not
been affected by the direct proscription of books and magazines promulgated by the
Chief Commissioner in Islamabad, who banned five Sindhi-language publications in
the second half of 1997 for "objectionable material against Pakistan" (i.e.,
expressions of Sindhi nationalism).
STATE-PRESS RELATIONS
The press has traditionally experienced the often harsh effects of Pakistan's political
instability. When partition resulted in the establishment of Pakistan as an
independent homeland for the Muslims, the Muslim League as a political party
struggled with the tasks of leading the new country into stable statehood.
Factionalism, however, quickly contributed to instability, internal strife,
incompetence, and corruption. The press at this point was largely a remnant of the
Moslem press present during the struggle for independence, and it was seen as
aggravating the problems being faced by keeping these issues out in front of the
people. Thus, the government began its long history of attempting to control the
press through arrests, the banning of certain publications, and other punitive
measures.
Between 1948 and 1956, political turbulence intensified with the assassination of
the country's first prime minister, Quaid-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan, in 1951 and the
dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in 1954. However, by 1956, the Constitution
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was enforced; it contained an article specifically
devoted to freedom of speech. The 1956 Constitution lasted less than three years
when it was abrogated by the imposition of martial law in October 1958. A new
enforcement of the constitution in 1962 occurred with the removal of martial law by
President Ayub Khan. Although this constitution continued the recognition of an

29. initial concept of freedom of expression, in reality, a military ruler imposed the
constitution, and it contained no separate chapter on fundamental rights. The press
and the public commented on the implications of living under a constitution devoid
of mention of such basic rights, which resulted in Constitutional Amendment No. 1
to the 1962 Constitution.
However, in 1963, just one year after the adoption of the new constitution, the Press
and Publications Ordinance (PPO) came into being. This ordinance contained the
harshest of laws curtailing freedom of expression and the progressive development
of the media and leading to the March 1969 relinquishing of power by President
Ayub Khan to General Yahya Khan who imposed martial law. General Khan relied
heavily on one of the measures of this ordinance, the system of "press advice" given
out by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in order to avoid publication of
news and reports deemed unsuitable for public consumption. It was also during this
period that newspapers and magazines known for their independent and
progressive views were first taken over by the government. Eventually the National
Press Trust, created in 1964, took over these journals and acted as a front to control
a section of the press.
In 1960, the Western Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance was
promulgated. On the outside, the aim was to consolidate into one law different
provisions for "preventive detention of persons" and "control of persons and
publications for reasons connected with the maintenance of public order." The real
aim was to refine and reinforce the mechanism of repression. With amendments in
1963 and 1964, this law empowered the government to ban the printing of
publications, to enter and search premises, and to prohibit import of newspapers,
among other measures. These powers have been used by succeeding governments
right up until the government of Musharraf.
In 1961, the government also took over the principal news agency of the country,
the APP, arguing that "administrative and financial breakdown" justified such a
move. Instead of allowing private enterprise to improve the quality of the news
agency, the government saw this as an opportunity to control what news would be
supplied to the print media, to radio, and to the outside world.
In spite of such repressive times, the press took a bold stand in providing alternative
sources of news through an independent press. It was also during this time that the
Press and Publications Ordinance collected under one law a number of excessive
regulatory measures and punitive concepts that had previously existed in different
laws and were now applied heavily to control the press. This press law (PPO)
endured for 25 years before being repealed in September 1988.
In December 1971, when the break-up of Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh
occurred, General Yahya Khan handed over power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as
President and Pakistan's first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator who
continued to use martial law up to April 1972 when an interim constitution was

30. adopted, prior to the enactment of a new constitution by the National Assembly in
August 1973. Bhutto, however, reacting to criticism by various members of the
press, imprisoned editors and publishers on the pretext of national security.
The next five years, from 1972 to 1977, represented the beginnings of democracy;
however, they were marred by repressive actions toward the press. The new
constitution, although formulated on the principles of democracy, human rights, and
freedom of speech, did not deliver on these promises. The PPO remained, as did the
National Press Trust. Furthermore, through coercion and manipulation, the
government insured that the only other news agency in the country (aside from the
government-owned APP), the Pakistan Press International (PPI), was brought under
its authority.
In 1977, General Zia ul Haq ousted Bhutto from the prime minister position and
once again imposed martial law under which abuse of journalists became public
rather than covert. Journalists were flogged in public at Zia's whim. Although
martial law usually ends with a Supreme Court-imposed deadline by which elections
must be held, Zia was given no such deadline, and his time in office up to August
1988 had a deleterious effect on the mass media. Not one single law or regulation of
any progressive character was created during Zia's rule. The only positive outcome
of Zia's rule was the restoration of the news agency PPI to its original shareholders.
Since then PPI provides a valuable alternative news source to the government-
controlled APP.
In 1985, Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo was elected to the National
Assembly, based on nonparty elections, and lifted martial law in December 1985.
Even though Junejo was a more democratic political figure, the PPO remained in
place under him, and he relied on the old media laws. However, in May 1988
President General Zia ul Haq dissolved the National Assembly and dismissed the
Government of Prime Minister Junejo, replacing them with a cabinet of his own and
no prime minister. This arrangement only lasted 11 weeks as Haq was killed in a
suspicious plane crash in August 1988.
This incident resulted in the Chairman of the Senate, Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan,
succeeding to the office of President as per the constitution. A caretaker government
provided transition to a full-fledged democracy, which included repealing the press
law that had coerced the media for so long.
A new law, known as the Registration of Printing Presses and Publications
Ordinance came into effect in 1988. A key change in this law made it mandatory for
the District Magistrate to issue a receipt to an applicant for the issuance of a
declaration for the keeping of a printing press or the publication of a journal to
provide the applicant with proof that would help avoid government interference.
The most significant change made in the press law of 1988 was the removal of
power from the government and the right of an applicant to be heard in person by

31. the authority before any punitive action was taken, like the closure of a press.
Appeals were also now allowed. In addition, newspapers were no longer obligated
to publish in full the press notes issued by the government.
For a variety of reasons, the press law of 1988 continued to be re-promulgated as an
ordinance through 1997, even though the Supreme Court ruled such re-
promulgation unconstitutional. One key reason for this was the recurring demands
by representative bodies of the press to revise the 1988 law even further to remove
any executive power to control the press.
The November 1988 elections saw Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the first Muslim
woman prime minister of the world, assume office. She brought with her a new
phase of liberalism toward the mass media laws and regulations. For example,
Bhutto's government allowed government-controlled radio and television to
provide daily and well-balanced coverage of the speeches and statements of its
opposition in news bulletins and current affairs programs. Because the print media
reaches such a small percentage of the population, this change had a significant
impact on the pubic, but was returned to the old, one-sided coverage after only four
months because of pressure on Bhutto by her party, the Pakistan People's Party.
The independent press grew stronger during this phase; the Urdu press and the
English press, as well as the regional language press, such as Sindh language
newspapers, showed a new energy in reporting the news and in analyzing the issues
of the day. In addition, new technology and use of computers and desktop
publishing allowed a more timely and in-depth reporting of the news. Bhutto also
ended the manipulative government practice of using newsprint as a means of
controlling the press. Specifically, the Ministry of Information no longer required
issuance of permits to import newsprint and allowed a free and open system of
importing newsprint at market prices.
In 1990, President Ishaq Khan dismissed Bhutto's government, charging them with
misconduct, and declared a state of emergency. Bhutto and her party lost the
October elections, and the new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, took over. For reasons
not apparent to the public, Sharif restored the issuance of permits system for news-
print import.
The charges against Bhutto were resolved, and after a bitter campaign, the PPP was
returned to power in October 1993, and Bhutto was again named prime minister.
She was ousted again in 1996 amid charges of corruption, a caretaker government
was installed, and Sharif defeated Bhutto in the February 1997 elections.
In Sharif's two and one-half years in power, he used many heavy-handed methods to
deal with journalists who dared to criticize his government. He put tremendous
pressure on independent journalists, using both covert and overt means of
retribution. His Pakistan Muslim League party (PML) achieved a landslide electoral
victory in the National Assembly, which made Sharif believe he had been given a

32. "heavy mandate" to rule the country as he saw fit. He was able to cast aside all
democratic checks on his power, except for the press. In the end, the press survived
whereas Sharif did not. The press, in fact, through its wide reporting of Sharif's
abuse of power, prepared the Pakistani people for General Pervez Musharraf's
military coup on October 12, 1999.
In May 2000 Musharraf's regime was strengthened by a unanimous decision by the
Supreme Court to validate the October 1999 coup as having been necessary; at the
same time the Court announced that the Chief Executive should name a date not
later than 90 days before the expiry of the three-year period from October 12, 1999
for the holding of elections to the National Assembly, the provincial assemblies, and
the Senate.
In Pakistan today a cooperative effort appears to be underway between Musharraf's
government and the journalism community. In general, Musharraf's administration
seems to follow a more liberal policy towards the press with fewer restrictions and
much less manipulation. However, reports vary widely. Whereas the Pakistan Press
Foundation (PPF) reported continued harassment of and dangers to journalists,
some journalists currently working for Pakistani newspapers offer another version
of the situation. A. R. Khaliq, assistant editor for Business Recorder, reported that
"the press, by and large, is not faced with any coercion or abuse under Musharraf."
ATTITUDE TOWARD FOREIGN MEDIA
Foreign Correspondents
The official Press and Information Departments under the Ministry of
Informationhandle accreditation procedures for foreign correspondents. Special
visas are required if long stays are intended. Pakistan rarely grants visas to Indian
journalists or journalists of Indian origin.
The presence of foreign journalists in Pakistan has intensified with the United
States' search for Osama bin Laden after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Pakistan's proximity to Afghanistan provides the media with a base from which to
operate as they report the news to the world. The killing of American journalist
Daniel Pearl by extremists in Pakistan brought much unwanted attention to
Musharraf's government, and the United States has urged Pakistan's government to
place a ban on the publications of as many as 22 magazines that serve as
propaganda machines of the different religious and Jihadi organizations, which
appear from Karachi, Lahore and Muzaffarabad. The ban is the extension of
measures set by the United Nations Security Council Sanction Committee and the
United States government against the terrorist individuals and entities.
Foreign Ownership of Domestic Media
Previous press laws included provisions restricting foreign ownership in the press.
The law specified that a non-citizen of Pakistan could hold shares in any newspaper
only with the previous approval of the government and only if such participation in
ownership did not exceed 25 percent of the entire proprietary interest. Information

33. on foreign ownership provisions in the proposed new press laws is unavailable.
Domestic Contacts with International Press Organizations
International press organizations are very active in Pakistan, especially in terms of
monitoring the freedom of the press. The Pakistan Press Foundation, for example, is
a nonprofit media research, documentation and training center committed to
promoting freedom of the press in Pakistan and internationally. The foundation
produces PPF NewsFlash, a service designed to highlight threats to press freedom in
Pakistan.
The International Press Institute, a global network of editors, media executives, and
leading journalists dedicated to the freedom of the press and improving the
standards and practices of journalism, not only sponsors the annual World Press
Freedom Day but also provides a World Press Freedom Review on journalism in
Pakistan and the other 110 member countries. This organization was instrumental
in sponsoring various seminars on World Press Freedom Day that allowed national
debate and focus on the proposed new Press Council and press laws.
A third organization, Committee to Protect Journalists, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization dedicated to the global defense of press freedom. This organization
publishes special reports such as its 2000 publication of "Pakistan: The Press for
Change." They also maintain a web site with regional homepages covering each
country.
NEWS AGENCIES
The Ministry of Information controls and manages the country's primary wire
service, the APP. APP is both the government's own news agency and the official
carrier of international wire service stories to the local media. The launching of a
Web site by APP enables readers to browse and download the latest news. The news
service is now directly fed into the computers of the subscribers simultaneously
throughout Pakistan and overseas. Besides publishing in the English language, APP
also issues news items in Urdu.
The other primary news agency in Pakistan is the PPI, a private independent news
agency. Several other news agencies have also emerged in recent years, some
funded by political groups. The few small privately owned wire services are
circumspect in their coverage of sensitive domestic news and tend to follow a
government line.
Foreign news bureaus include Agence France-Presse (France), Agenzia Nazionale
Stampa Associata (Italy), Associated Press (United States), Deutsche Presse-Agentur
(Germany), Inter Press Service (Italy), Reuters (United Kingdom), United Press
International (United States), and Xinhua News Agency (People's Republic of China).
All are located in the capital of Islamabad.
BROADCAST MEDIA

34. State Policies Relating to Radio & TV News
The broadcast media are government monopolies. The government owns and
operates the bulk of radio and television stations through its two official broadcast
bureaucracies, the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and Pakistan Television.
Domestic news coverage and public affairs programming on these broadcast media
are closely controlled by the government and traditionally have reflected strongly
the views of the party in power. Television reaches 86 percent of the population
covering only 37.5 percent of the territory.
The privately owned Shalimar Television Network broadcasts foreign programs
including CNN and BBC. However, the network censors segments that can be
considered socially and sexually offensive by Pakistani standards, and the
government censors morally objectionable advertising. All stations must use news
bulletins produced by Pakistan Television. The greatest impact on broadcasting so
far has been the introduction and popularity of satellite dishes. Satellite enables
access to STAR TV, BBC, CNN, as well as other channels providing important news
and entertainment.
Radio reaches almost 100 percent of the population. Pakistan Broadcasting
Corporation broadcasts its external service to 70 countries in 15 languages. Each
station broadcasts local news and interests. The majority of the programs pertain to
music (48 percent), religion (12.5 percent), and news and current affairs (11
percent).
In 1995-96, government grants, advertisements (11 percent), and licensing fees (2.3
percent) funded 85 percent of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. The decreasing
trend in advertising created an increased dependence on the government for funds.
The government is also a major shareholder in the private station, Shalimar
Recording.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
The Pakistan Press Foundation is actively involved in training of journalists. The
foundation regularly organizes workshops and seminars on important issues facing
Pakistani media. Along with imparting basic training to rural journalists, the
training program aims to raise awareness of rural journalists about their rights and
responsibilities. Pakistan Press Foundation's training activities also include the
Rural Journalists Skills Development Program that focuses sessions on press
freedom, rights of journalists and journalistic ethics.
Plans are underway in the 2000s to create training courses to improve the efficiency
of information officers and later to open those courses to the media community. In
addition, reference libraries are planned for Karachi and, later, research cells at all
information centers in the provinces so that news people would have easy access to
background materials in their areas of operation. In addition, accreditation cards
would be issued to working journalists to help them perform their duties; these
would be issued according to accreditation laws and the opinion of accreditation