wartribune

By Sohail Khattak KARACHI : Journalists Salman Shahzad and Muhammad Wali Afridi were delirious with happiness and exhaustion when they reached their last destination, the Karachi Press Club, after traveling from Peshawar on motorcycle in a bid to highlight the dangers their kind face in the line of duty. Their journey started on May 26. “We did this to draw attention to the unsafe conditions faced by the journalists of the country, especially those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas,” said Shahzad, 25, while speaking to The Express Tribune. They stopped at press clubs in Nowshera, Islamabad , Lahore , Multan and Hyderabad on the way. “We have collected data on the murders of 26 journalists who have been killed since 9/11. Thirteen of them were killed in just the last 13 months,” said Shahzad. Then, on May 10, the death of news reporter Nasrullah Afridi in a bomb blast occurred in Peshawar . “Nasrullah’s death forced us to do something for the rights and protection...

Salman Shahzad Since times immemorial, human has always committed crimes and I am cocksure there should have been rules and regulations how to overcome the ever-growing trend of crimes. With the pace of human intellect, the black side (the wolf inside human) also started growing and when the world entered into the age of scientific revolutions, inventions, discoveries, rationalism and democracy; we have one thing in legacy from our ancestors—hanging human for crimes while that’s quite vague when and where it took its birth. Nonetheless one thing is quite clear and that is the system has always been riddled with flaws and lapses as it is too troublesome to get into reality as one basic question always click mind—who is innocent and who is guilty. As globally countless human rights groups are vociferously calling for the end of ‘hanging tradition’ and a number of states have come to agreement that it should come to an end now but in Pakistan unfortunately it is still intact. Lead ...

Salman Shahzad PESHAWAR: What would be the future of my 10-month-old child who is languishing along with me in the central jail? This was the main concern expressed by a female prisoner, who wished not to be named, in his letter she wrote to Lead Pakistan from central prison of the provincial capital. She further informed that currently 11 infants, excluding her own, are suffering from acute illness but they are not being provided proper treatment facilities. “Although, medicines are available in the prison’s dispensary but they are substandard, thus cannot cure our babies,” she disclosed, adding that concerned authorities should take notice of the issue without any delay. She continued: “Such children are in fact victims of circumstances; they easily fall into hands of criminals after stepping into adulthood as the conditions wherein they spend their childhood are completely unfavorable for upbringing of children.” The unknown female prisoner suggested that there should be proper f...

By Salman Shahzad Peshawar: No other profession demands for the sacrifice of one’s life except army whilst equally with that in South Asian context is going the profession of journalism, which demands sacrifice of life. There have been 8 cases of journalists’ murders in Pakistan in the year 2010, and 12 cases in 2008, which is a clear indication that this ill-fated community has been facing myriad challenges and hurdles. If we compare the war-torn country Afghanistan with this land of ill-fated journalists, we can see two incidents of killing of journalists which shows that despite the war and ethnicity, the Afghans have some degree of tolerance. Until yesterday we were congratulating the advent of new years and hoped that 2011 would bring a new dawn but our hopes were dashed to grounds when in the first month of the new year a journalist—Wali Babar was mowed down by those who have been the enemy of impartial and free voices. Here it would not be futile, if said that stat...

Rooh-ul-Amin Around the world, there are outnumbering journalists’ organizations, always vociferously raising slogans for the freedom of press, rights of journalists including safety to their lives. Journalism, as we see is not yet free and whatever press freedom today we have is the outgrowth of the blood of the journalists fallen. In current day scenario especially in Pakistan keeping the candle of free journalism alive is tantamount to inviting death. And this is not an exaggeration rather those who feel doubts may see the incidents of journalists killings and for that we will have to look back into history as there have been and 12 cases in 2008 and 8 cases of journalists murders in Pakistan in the year 2010 while as many as five journalists have been killed so far in 2011, which is a clear indication that this ill-fated community has been facing myriad challenges and hurdles. If we compare the war-torn Afghanistan with Pakistan, we can judge that journalists in Afghanistan are a b...