The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands Pakistan’s Government and senior security officials
abide by United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 after security
forces reportedly opened fire on journalists in Pakistan’s
North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) just after granting the team permission to
enter the Swat Valley conflict zone.
AVT Khyber
cameraman Malik Imran and his driver,
Mushtaq, suffered serious bullet
injuries on June 9 when security forces fired at a vehicle carrying a team of
journalists who were on their way to report on the conflict between Pakistan’s
armed forces and insurgents in the Lower Dir district.
Khyber TV reporter
Lihaz Ali and a photographer for a national daily paper, Abdul Majeed Goraya, escaped injury.
“These
are difficult times for Pakistan,
but it is outrageous that security personnel would fire on a media team, especially as the journalists had just been given permission
to enter the area,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White
said.
“This
latest attack on journalists blatantly contravenes Security Council Resolution
1738, which requires that national governments – and their armed forces – must
protect journalists and media workers reporting in war zones, in accordance
with their status as civilians.”
The IFJ joins its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), in calling on Pakistan’s
Government and Army Chief to explain the incident and conduct an immediate
high-level investigation.
The PFUJ said
the journalists told the Khyber Union of Journalists that the incident occurred
after they had registered with security authorities at Dargai, near Peshawar, and received permission to enter the conflict
zone.
Security
forces then reportedly shot at the media team as soon as it entered the area,
the journalists said. It remains unclear whether the shots were fired by personnel
who had given the team permission to enter.
The PFUJ
reports that Swat, Deer, Malakand,
Bonair and other areas of the war-torn NWFP have been off limits to journalists
and media workers. The only source of information about operational
activities in these areas has been statements issued by the Inter Services
Public Relations (ISPR), an arm of
the military.
“This is nothing but a direct
impediment against independent reporting by the media and a suppression of the
rights to freedom of press and expression,”
the PFUJ said.
“Any government strategy of shutting
down media reporting of a major conflict deprives all civilians in Pakistan
with necessary information about their safety. Shooting at journalists who have
taken appropriate measures to access the war zone is a war crime.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents over 600,000 journalists in
120 countries worldwide