Pakistani broadcasters under threat

At least two prominent broadcast journalists in Pakistan have accused the state security of threatening them, the International Business Times reports.

Both reporters allege that they’ve been threatened for questioning and criticising the role of the military in the nation’s affairs.
One of the journalists, Najam Sethi, a news analyst for Pakistan’s Geo TV, told BBC: “We did not speak about (these threats) before because we did not want to destabilise things, but the time has come when all should come forward and speak about it publicly.
“This is not the age when the intelligence operatives should be threatening their own civilians. A state within the state is not acceptable.”

Another journalist, Hamid Mir, who hosts a popular talk show on Geo TV, warned other reporters that he has been receiving threats from the security establishment.

“I am sure that the security establishment of Pakistan is once again angry with all those who raise questions about the political role of the army,” he wrote in an e-mail released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“If anything bad happens to me or my dear ones, the security establishment will be responsible.”

CPJ has cited another Pakistani journalist named Jugnu Mohsin, who has been subjected to similar threats.

Earlier this year, journalist Saleem Shahzad was tortured and murdered, apparently for writing about links between Pakistan’s Navy and the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.

According to CPJ, at least 41 reporters have been killed in Pakistan since 1992 – and 29 in just the past five years alone.