Abduction of journalists

Although two democratically elected governments have completed their full terms in office freedom of expression remains under threat, as two Lahore-based journalists learned the other day to their and the wider civil society's horror. According to reports, Gul Bukhari who hosts a talk show on a television and also writes a column for a newspaper was abducted while on her way to work for a late night TV programme. The same night, another journalist Asad Kharral, was picked up by unidentified men, and brutally beaten up. Luckily for them, unlike some others who have suffered worst fate, they were set free after several hours. Whosoever abducted them must have explained the cause of their ordeal, but so far both have found it safe not to say anything about the shocking experience.
In the case of Bukhari, her critical comments directed in a certain direction may have invited trouble. Unfortunately, such and even worse incidents have become a normal practice. Scores of journalists and media workers have been killed in terrorism-related conflict situations in different parts of the country for not giving favourable coverage to one or the other side. In an unsurprising but deeply distressing report, the latest World Press Freedom Index places Pakistan among the most dangerous countries in the world, ranked 139th out of 180 countries. It also appears regularly in the Global Impunity Index, published annually for the last ten years on the "International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists", by the Committee to Protect Journalists that names countries where journalists are murdered and their murderers walk free. Many media persons as well as other citizens are subjected to intimidation from powerful quarters whose identify remains unnamed. Last year, several social media activists accused of posting 'anti-state' content went missing. In fact, there have been so many cases of 'disappearances' during the recent years that the recourse to habeas corpus petitions has been rendered irrelevant as the affected families have no clue whether the police or some other agency took their near and dear ones into custody. This is not the way how democracies deal with dissent.
The latest incidents must not remain wrapped in mystery. The various media bodies must come together and demand an end to immunity for crimes against journalists. The police should conduct serious investigations into the two cases, and make the results public. In a much welcome development, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar has taken notice of the attack on Kharral, directing the IGP Punjab to submit a report on it. Hopefully, he will take a similar notice of Bukhari's case.