Pakistan is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists. According to the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2022, four journalists were killed in the year while performing their duties.

The passion most journalists exhibit for their work, at times even risking their lives, does not get enough attention. In the early 2000s, with the US invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of local militancy, journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were left fending for themselves. With no professional training in how to report from a war zone and little to no understanding of the constructive role of narratives of various state and non-state actors, they were left on their own to navigate their way through the process of composing stories for a wide range of audiences.

After two decades of rapid change in the means of mass communication, where journalists have had to learn and work with the latest technology, most of them now understand the various threat levels while covering proscribed organisations.

With digital platforms entering the media landscape, the intensity and diversity of attacks on journalism has increased over the recent years. According to Freedom Network, in 2021-2022 there were 86 attacks against the media and journalists in Pakistan.

Benefiting from a tech revolution, many militant organisations have upgraded their networks and expanded their reach in the society to propagate their narrative. In the past, they have bombed media houses, and homes of reporters and bureau chiefs. They have even kidnapped journalists who reported or did not report in a certain way. The last big attack on a media house happened in 2014 when Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan – a proscribed organisation – carried out a suicide attack on a digital satellite newsgathering unit (DSNG) of Express News. Three people lost their lives in the incident. The reason for the attack was their coverage of the militant outfit. The media house had already been threatened with ‘retaliation’ for their reporting.

Kamal Siddiqi, a former newspaper editor, says: “I recall the time when our news staff was under attack. For us, the actual pressure point was our Peshawar office because the reports being published in the newspaper or those being aired on television used to have a great impact there.”

Explaining the group’s strategy to handle the challenge, he says that on many occasions the editors had to tone down stories, especially those covering the militant outfits.

“Recently one of our colleagues said that he wanted to cover the operation in the Punjab (the Punjab Police have launched an operation against bandits in Rahim Yar Khan). But if they go there to investigate, they may face certain risks. We had to say… that we could not risk our reporter’s life for a story,” says Siddiqi.

Latest technologies,

increased threats

Focusing on militancy and trying to get hold of exclusive sources in militant outfits is a challenge for emerging journalists. For veteran journalists, it is very hard to monitor the new outfits that are upgrading their use of the latest technologies and social media applications, i.e., Telegram, TikTok and ChatGPT for propagating their message and Bitcoin for fundraising.

While dealing with threats and working in the mainstream media, in the past journalists used to practice self-censorship. However, with a large number of journalists shifting to digital media platforms because of a crumbling mainstream media economy, there is greater transparency in their reporting.

According to the International Federation of Journalists Asia Pacific’s latest South Asia Press Freedom Report 2022- 2023, the number of people working in the media and reporting shrank by 45 percent amid ongoing widespread job uncertainty. A large chunk has shifted to YouTube to carry on their passion for reporting.

Asad Baig, founder of Pakistan’s media development and watchdog organisation Media Matters for Democracy, says, “When it comes to non-state actors, we have seen that some of the militant organisations operating from outside Pakistan have the latest methods of reaching out to people and journalists.”

Citing incidents where journalists have received threatening calls from Afghan numbers (mobile SIMs registered in Afghanistan) he says, “Reporters have said in the past that they have received threats from numbers that are local Afghanistan registered numbers. But the number of such calls is declining. The militants in areas bordering Afghanistan now operate in the rough terrain where they get limited internet access. Globally proscribed organisations like the ISIS are more active on digital platforms.”

Regulation, not protection, is a priority

Ten years ago, when the country was engulfed in terrorism, news directors of several media organisations met in Karachi to formulate rules for covering terrorist attacks.

“We told our correspondents at the time not to go near a blast site as twin blasts were common. We have to keep reminding our reporters of such precautions. When they are on the field trying to collect information, they tend to forget about their own safety,” says Siddiqi.

Since 2015, seven policies were proposed, and some were passed as laws, under two different governments, to regulate media and digital freedoms. On the other hand, only one law was passed to further the cause of journalism, the Protection of Journalists Bill.

Siddiqi categorises the safety of journalists under three broad categories. First, organisational support; second, training for journalists; and lastly, government protection.

He says in the digital era the traditional threats have persisted and new challenges have emerged. “Along with non-state actors, some political parties have started carrying out organised campaigns against individual journalists and media houses. The government has a responsibility to protect journalists.”

Rising PTSD in KP

journalists

A recent study has found that many of the journalists who have covered war and militant organisations, especially in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Razia Mehsood, a freelance journalist from South Waziristan, describes her work as “unpredictable.”

“We don’t know if we are going to return home safe after filing a story or covering one. We have seen our colleagues being kidnapped, murdered and brutally tortured by militant outfits.”

In a highly charged political environment, factual analysis can readily become the first casualty. In a warzone, the very life of a journalist is threatened. The need of the hour is to provide journalists with opportunities as well as training and equipment to cover security related incidents. But most importantly, their protection needs to be guaranteed by the state.

The writer is the editor of The Khorasan Diary. He can be reached on Twitter @iftikharfirdous