Sindhi Press SUfferings

Jirgas: Defying the Court
By Zubeida Mustafa

Since April 2004 when Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafri of the Sindh High Court (Sukkur Bench) imposed a ban on the holding of jirgas in the province, the Sindhi press has reported 25 jirgas that have been held. What is worse, in many of these, members of political parties and local administration have taken part
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Letters/2004/oct04/08/03.html
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DECEMBER 23, 2005
Posted January 4, 2006

Khabroon
ATTACKED
Armed men threw a gasoline bomb into the offices of the Sindhi-language daily Khabroon in the southern city of Sukkur, setting the reception area on fire, according to local news reports. The attackers threatened the newspaper staff, including journalists, and fired shots into the office.

Imtnan Shahid, an editor of the parent group Khabrain, accused Sindhi nationalist activists of perpetrating the attack in opposition to state-sponsored advertisements in Khabroon promoting the building of a controversial dam, according to the Karachi-based Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF). The newspaper was one of a handful of Sindhi-language publications carrying the ads, which were part of a broad government campaign to rally public support for the Kalabagh Dam project.

Copies of Khabroon were also burned in other cities, including Mirpurkhas, Ghotki, Waro and Thal, according to PPF.

The staff of the newspaper later walked out in protest at the management decision to accept the government advertisements.
http://www.cpj.org/cases05/asia_cases05/pak.html
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IFJ condemns assault on newspapers in Sindh, Pakistan
January 3, 2006
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned about the concerted attacks on newspaper offices in Pakistan.
IFJ president Christopher Warren joined IFJ affiliate Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), as well as the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), Sindhi Media Forum (SMF) and the Karachi Press Club (KPC), in strongly condemning the attack on newspaper offices and burning of newspapers in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.
On December 23, 2005, a group of armed men threw a petrol bomb into the offices of the Sukkur edition of the Sindhi-language daily newspaper Khabroon , setting the reception area on fire. The attackers reportedly hurled threats at the newspaper staff and fired shots in the air. The assailants are believed to be Sindhi nationalists.
The attack is the next incident in the growing unrest over the Kalabagh Dam issue. Prior to the attack, the entire staff of Khabroon had resigned over what they termed the “misuse” of public money by the Federal Ministry of Information who had issued advertisements in favour of the controversial Kalabagh Dam. There are also reports that the information ministry is using its "influence" particularly on the Sindhi newspapers to initiate a pro-dam campaign. This government campaign in support of Kalabagh Dam has seriously threatened the life and security of journalists.
The resignation of the entire staff of Khabroon is an unprecedented incident in the press history of Pakistan, showing how touchy the "dam issue" is in this province.
Journalist organisations in Pakistan have also appealed to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) to take notice of the decision of the management of daily Khabrein, which has moved the court in support of the Kalabagh Dam and has thus taken a partisan role on a political issue. Such a move has threatened the security of the journalists of newspapers in Sindh.
“The attack on newspapers and journalists is an attack on the profession and freedom of expression. We join our Pakistani colleagues in rasing a voice against this assault on press freedom, “ said the IFJ president.
The police have reportedly registered a case against unknown assailants and the Sindhi government has deployed paramilitary rangers at the Khabroon office in Sukkur for the staff's security.
“The IFJ appeals to the people of Sindh in general and to political parties and nationalist groups in particular to refrain from targeting newspapers or journalists as it could go against the interests of Sindh and is against freedom of the press which is one of the foundations of democracy,” said Warren.
http://www.ifj-asia.org/page/pakistan060103.html
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Six journalists injured in attack on press club

SOURCE: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), Karachi

(PPF/IFEX) - About fifty individuals attacked journalists in a rural press club on 14 June 2006, injuring six newsmen. The assailants, many of whom were on a tractor, barged into the press club in Thari Mirwah, a small town located in the Khairpur district of the southern province of Sindh, and started punching, kicking and beating journalists with sticks. They ransacked the press club damaging furniture and equipment. The intruders chanted slogans against journalists.

According to local journalists, the attack was connected to a news story about the use of substandard material by contractors in the construction of irrigation water courses.

The journalists injured include Mumtaz Ali Shar, president of the press club and reporter for the Sindhi language daily "Khabroon", Mehmud Ali Phul, reporter for "Kawish" daily and Kawish Television Network (KTN), Hafiz Baloch, reporter for Sindh Television Network, Safiullah, reporter for "Koshish" daily, Mukhtiar Qasmani, a correspondent for "Sham" daily, and Illahi Bukh, a reporter for "Sobh" daily.

The police were able to reach the press club in time to arrest a number of the attackers and subsequently filed criminal complaints against them. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has expressed concern over the attack and has appealed to journalists to wear black arm bands while covering the Sindh provincial assembly's budget session on 15 June to protest the rising number of incidents of violence against journalists in the province.

For further information, contact Owais Aslam Ali at PPF, Press Centre, Shahrah Kamal Ataturk, Karachi 74200, Pakistan, tel: +92 21 263 3215, fax: +92 21 263 1275, e-mail: foe@pakistanpressfoundation.org, Internet: http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of PPF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit PPF.
http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=9206
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Sindhi Press Refuses to Publish Ads
Huma Aamir Malik, Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=15§ion=18&d=22&m=12&y=2005&mode=dynamic§ionlist=no&pix=utilities.jpg&category=Search
KARACHI, 22 December 2005 — In an interesting turn of event, the federal government received a setback on the first day of its media campaign in favor of big reservoirs, including the Kalabagh Dam, when no Sindhi newspaper published its advertisements.
Newspapers published in other languages printed the government’s advertisement in favor of the Kalabagh and Bhasha dams, but not a single Sindhi newspaper carried them. Some newspapers that had already formed a “Sindhi Media Forum” had announced that they would not carry such advertisements but other papers, including a leading Sindhi newspaper, did not carry them either.
When contacted, the chairman of the forum and editor of daily Tameer-e-Sindh, Qazi Shah Muhammad, said that as an agricultural society, they could not afford advertisements in favor of the Kalabagh Dam that has remained the most controversial project in Sindh.
To a question, he said that while not all Sindhi papers were part of the forum, it was good that none of them had published the advertisement in favor of the Kalabagh Dam.
The general secretary of the forum and editor of daily Awami Awaz, Dr. Jabbar Khattak, said that they had not accepted the government’s advertisement, as its contents were contrary to its factual position. “It could be an act of misguiding the public,” he said.
“We don’t publish the advertisements of quacks either as we consider them harmful for human health,” he argued.
Meanwhile, the opposition has not invited members of the ruling parties to attend the anti-Kalabagh Dam rally scheduled for today due to their “loyalty” to President Pervez Musharraf is “intact”.
“The ruling parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, should choose between Musharraf and the people,” Rashid Rabbani, president of the Karachi chapter of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) said.
Rabbani said the action committee had finalized arrangements to stage a rally today to protest the proposed Kalabagh Dam
Calls for journalist’s prison sentence to be dropped
http://www.ifj-asia.org/page/pakistan050505.html
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World Press Freedom Day marred by violence in Pakistan
4 May 2005
“By attempting to silence journalists, Pakistan authorities are ruling out the possibility of true democracy,” said Warren.
The IFJ condemns all acts of violence against journalists in Pakistan and urges the Pakistan Government to ensure journalists are not harassed or brutalised by its security forces.
http://www.ifj-asia.org/page/pakistan050504.html
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Press freedom takes a battering in Pakistan