Life was hard enough for journalists in Pakistan before the police began registering cases against them. According to reports, in less than a month the police in Sindh registered cases against 34 journalists under anti-terrorism and anti-riot acts, in connection with the violent protests that took place after following Benazir Bhutto's 27 December assassination. Many journalists had police knocking on their doors to raid their homes. It is possible that the police are confused between the rioters and the journalists, who were, after all, merely doing their job.
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With the much-anticipated elections imminent in Pakistan, it would be fair to assume that the news media, there and abroad, is working overdrive. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Pervez Musharraf's benevolent rhetoric aside, there are serious obstacles to fair coverage in the lead-up to the 18 February polls. Fundamental among these are the new censorship ordinances, whereby journalists can be thrown into prison for three years in prison for "mocking" the president. Also greatly worrying is the continued violence and intimidation of journalists across the country. Not only that, but remember that many of the banned television channels were allowed to resume broadcast only after they signed a government-promulgated code of conduct. And though the ban on Geo News, the hugely popular and balanced station, was lifted during the third week of January, Chhetria Patrakar rues the fact that the channel was forced to remove some of its programmes.
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