Journalists warned of shift from violence against journalists to legal and regulatory control over the media on World Press Freedom Day.
At a World Press Freedom Day event hosted by the Center for Excellence in Journalism at the IBA Karachi (IBA-CEJ), journalists, editors and media advocates warned that threats to journalism were increasingly shifting from physical violence to legal, regulatory, and economic repression.
It was said that in an age of misinformation and self-censorship, public interest journalism had never been more vital to promoting peace and prosperity and holding power to account.
Opening the event, IBA-CEJ Director Shahzeb Jillani said, “We are holding this event at a critical time when press freedom is at its lowest around the world. Yet, we are here to renew our commitment to public interest journalism to report the truth with courage, but also to stay safe while holding power to account.”
Speaking during a panel on journalist safety, titled ‘Shooting the messenger - the price we pay’, the executive director of Freedom Network, Iqbal Khattak, identified regulatory repression as one of the biggest threats facing journalists. “Economic strangulation and abuse of cyber laws has emerged as a go-to tactic to silence dissent and punish critics,” he said.
Fellow panellist Adil Jawad expanded on this point, highlighting the particular vulnerability of digital journalists: “There is a growing focus on controlling the narrative on social and digital media. More and more digital journalists are being targeted by PECA, often because they lack the training on how to stay safe.”
The panel also included former PFUJ president Shahzada Zulfiqar who shed light on how Balochistan had been turned into an information black hole. The session was moderated by Nadia Naqi.
Gaza journalists were also honoured at the event for being defenders of press freedom. Al Jazeera’s senior correspondent Osama Bin Javaid, the event’s keynote speaker, delivered a powerful tribute in his session titled ‘Eyewitness to history: reporting on war and genocide’.
“The freedom of the press around the world is owed to the journalists of Gaza,” he said.
Another discussion titled ‘Reporting from the field? Navigating everyday trolling, pressures and restrictions’ featured women reporters Sidra Dar, Kiran Khan, and Yusra Askari.
Moderator of the panel, Shahzeb Ahmed, offered practical advice for journalists facing online abuse: “Develop a thick skin not to let trolling get to you, keep going, but also know when to pause and take a step back.”
Reflecting on what inspired her work, Kiran emphasised journalism’s potential for impact. “Your voice can be so powerful that its pain reaches people and compels them to take meaningful action,” she said.
In the concluding session titled ‘Surrender is not an option’, Dawn Editor Zaffar Abbas conversed with Jillani.
Abbas delivered an impassioned call to persevere despite mounting pressures. “I still believe that surrender is not an option. If you are unable to stand for what you believe in, then it would be better to quit and go home.”
He added that serving society through writing, broadcasts and footage was a powerful way to let people know what was wrong so that they could make informed decisions. “If we continue doing that, we can make a difference,” he asserted.
The Dawn editor stressed that true editorial independence would require media houses to reduce dependence on government and private advertising.
Speakers throughout the event emphasised that as methods of suppressing journalism become more sophisticated, defending ethical, independent and public interest journalism had become more urgent than ever.
