Pakistan Journos Hit by Feudal Backlash

BY Ahmad Naeem Khan| IN Media Freedom | 16/10/2003

OneWorld.net on Yahoo!                  .
 http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index2&cid=655

Ahmad Naeem Khan in Lahore                                                        

 (OneWorld) - Last week`s murder of a journalist, the third in Pakistan`s southern Sindh province this year, spotlights the grave dangers of  exposing feudal crimes in this region. Ameer Bux Brohi, 30, a district reporter of the local daily Kawish, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in Shikarpur town in  interior Sindh. He was on his way to office when the attack took place.

Brohi, a journalist with ten years experience, was known for his investigative reports on Karo-Kari, the brutal custom of murdering women who dare to choose their husbands or lovers.

According to reports, over 400 women were killed in this fashion in Pakistan this year. Brohi`s family said he had been threatened many times with dire consequences, but had carried on regardless. Brohi`s uncle, Habibullah Brohi, lodged a complaint with the local police after the murder. Though they assured him the killers would be arrested  within three days, they still remain at large.

Similarly, last month a journalist working for a local Urdu daily, Mohammad Akbar, was killed in the southern port city of Karachi by armed gangsters. There have been no arrests. Last year on October 20, goons belonging to a local chieftain had           gunned down journalist Shahid Soomro, of Kawish - again in Sindh. Increasing violence against journalists in Sindh has created a stir among the people. Not only journalists, but human rights activists, writers and  intellectuals have expressed concern over the trend.

Former Sindh chief minister Mumtaz Ali Khan Bhutto warned that "warlordism" would rule in Sindh if the government did not effectively check such violence.                      Last week, the Karachi Union of Journalists held a protest meeting at the local press club and threatened to boycott the proceedings of the Sindh Provincial Assembly if Brohi`s killers were not arrested by October 11.

 The speakers strongly criticized the government and administration for failing to protect the lives of journalists. Fayaz Mangi, a journalist from Larkana, the hometown of former Prime Ministers Z.A. Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, described his plight. He said he was facing regular threats from influential people in the area, for writing about social problems faced by the masses.

Mangi regularly reported on issues such as kidnapping for ransom, private jails of feudal lords, cold-blooded murders of women and exploitation of landless peasants at the hands of landlords.

He said two weeks ago he received an anonymous letter, asking him to pay US $3,300 as "protection money," failing which he would be killed. On the day of the deadline, last Friday, he reached the appointed place to meet the extortionists, along with some local journalists. But nobody showed up.

  Although the local police chief and town mayor have offered him official   security, Mangi remarked it was not feasible for him to keep guards with  him all the time.         He said his parents were terrified, urging him to relocate to Karachi. He had accordingly requested his editor in Karachi for a transfer to the  head office.

 Mangi also met provincial secretary (Information) Mehtab Akbar  Rashdi and apprised her about the threat. She had assured him the  government would ensure his safety. Condemning Brohi`s murder, the information advisor to the Sindh chief minister, Salahuddin Haider, said the culprits would be brought to justice         within four days.

 He said the local administration, including the police, had been asked to arrest the killers within four days or face action. According to Haider, it was the government`s responsibility to provide  security to journalists. "Killing of journalists is nothing but a means to defame the  administration," he said. "The government is committed to resolve the problems being faced by media in the province."

But taming the feudal lords won`t be an easy task, especially in areas where official writ doesn`t count for much. Like, for instance, in the North West Frontier Province. In January this year, freelance writer Wahab was shot dead by unidentified gunmen       while sitting in a roadside shop near the resort town of Mingora. The shopkeeper and his young assistant also died in the attack.

Wahab, who lived in Mingora, had published several books criticizing local religious leaders and Islamist organizations. The president of the Pakistan Federation of Union of Journalists   (PFUJ), Ahfazur Rehman, and its former president Abdul Hameed  Chaphra lashed out at the government, vested interests and newspaper managements for not doing enough to protect the lives of journalists.