JournalismPakistan.com | Published May 23, 2013
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LONDON: Journalists in Pakistan are under “serious threat” from state security forces, some political parties and religious militant groups, Amnesty International has said.
The News, reporting on the launch of AI’s 2013 annual report at its London headquarters, said the human rights organization’s Secretary General Salil Shetty cited the example of senior Geo TV and Jang Group journalist Hamid Mir.
Mir escaped an assassination attempt in November when a bomb under his car failed to detonate. Quoting the annual report, Shetty said the Pakistani Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attempt.
The AI report says that several journalists claimed to have been threatened for reporting on the military, political parties or armed groups, but the authorities failed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
AI’s Pakistan researcher Mustafa Qadri told The News that his organization has received credible reports of threats to and attacks on journalists because of their coverage of the elections and alleged vote-rigging by some political parties.
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