By Bob Dietz/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator
Amid politicaltumult in Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and a teamof six ministers are in London for far-ranging meetings today through May 13. ThePakistan-U.K. Enhanced Strategic Dialogue will review education, health, defense,security, and cultural cooperation. CPJ has written a letterto Prime Minister David Cameron to urge that press freedom conditions be raisedas well.
As we pointed out, Pakistan has been the world's deadliest country forjournalists for two consecutive years. That record reflects fatalities fromboth dangerous assignments and targeted murders.
In only one of the 20 journalist murder cases since January2002 have any of the perpetrators been brought to justice. The partialexception is that of the American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, in whichsome of the people involved in his abduction and beheading were eventually broughtto trial. This abysmal record makes Pakistan one of the worst countries in theworld in combating deadly anti-press violence, according to CPJ's 2012 ImpunityIndex.
Twelve others have been killed since 2002 while covering dangerousassignments. They lacked the protective gear and safety training that are standardin many places in the world. Given those hard realities, here are some suggestedissues that could get a jump-start at the London sessions. They come fromdiscussions I've had with Pakistani journalists over the last few years:
In the context of defense and security cooperation, Britain couldoffer Pakistan assistance in reversing impunity in the killings of journalists.These murders have been attributed to government officials, criminal gangs,wealthy business owners, and militant groups. Assistance to local policeinvestigators working on these unsolved cases--coupled with a commitment to increasethe forensic capabilities of local and national police--would go far inprotecting journalists. Increased law enforcement capacity is also in theinterest of the broader public.
As for those journalists covering dangerous assignments, Britaincould offer two forms of assistance that would have immediate impact:
- Getting helmets, body armor, and otherprotective gear into the hands of at-risk journalists would be an immediate andcost-effective way of protecting lives. In the past, there have been problems gettingthis gear through Pakistani customs, an issue that could be resolved by thetalks in London.
- By helping bear the cost of securitytraining to individual journalists--and preparing Pakistani trainers to pass onthat knowledge to the larger press corps--British aid could go far in savinglives. Journalist organizations and media companies have taken steps to improvetraining, but more assistance is needed.
And here is one other proposal: In cooperation with internationalaid donors and partnering with a Pakistani academic institution of appropriatestature, Britain could help launch a graduate school of journalism in Pakistan.Many newsroom managers say they are hiring journalism students who are eagerbut not fully prepared. The problem is partly caused by the explosion of demand;Pakistani media has been going through a protracted period of growth for quitea while. But many of Pakistan's media and communications schools don't seem tohave the budgets or the programs, in English, Urdu, or Pashto, to meet theindustry's demand for newsroom-ready reporters. And if that graduate school ofjournalism should also host a journalists' safety training program, who wouldfind fault with that?
Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ's Asia Program, has reported across the continent for news outlets such as CNN and Asiaweek. He has led numerous CPJ missions, including ones to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
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