Islamabad, September 5<\/strong> \u2013 Journalists and rights activists have expressed serious concern over the increasing restrictions on press freedom in Pakistan, with many drawing parallels to the censorship that prevailed during General Ziaul Haq\u2019s military regime, local media reported on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concerns were highlighted at events held in Islamabad to pay tribute to veteran journalists and trade unionists Nisar Osmani<\/strong> and C.R. Shamsi<\/strong>, both of whom fought for press freedom and journalists\u2019 rights during martial law regimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a seminar at the National Press Club (NPC)<\/strong>, members of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) remembered the struggles of Osmani and Shamsi, stressing the need to safeguard independent journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A separate candlelight vigil was also held outside the Dawn<\/strong> offices, where journalists, lawmakers, and rights activists gathered to honor the two late journalists. Speakers urged media workers to unite and resist government measures curbing freedom of expression, vowing to continue their struggle against restrictive laws, including recent amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants noted that harassment, abductions, and assaults on journalists have created a climate of fear that undermines independent reporting. They condemned the closure of roads leading to the NPC, calling it an attempt to \u201cbesiege\u201d journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concerns follow last month\u2019s condemnation by the Human Rights Council (HRC) of Pakistan<\/strong>, which criticized the use of PECA against four women journalists \u2014 Nayyar Ali, Sehrish Qureshi, Maira Imran, and Shakeela Jalil<\/strong>. The rights body described the move as an attack on press freedom, particularly targeting women in an already hostile environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn any civilized society, the performance of institutions is judged by the role and participation of women. Targeting women in journalism with lawsuits and harassment is deeply regrettable and unfortunate,\u201d the HRC said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The council called for immediate justice and protection for the affected women journalists and urged media bodies, civil society, and human rights institutions to join forces in defending press freedom in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Islamabad, September 5 \u2013 Journalists and rights activists have expressed serious concern over the increasing restrictions on press freedom in Pakistan, with many drawing parallels to the censorship that prevailed during General Ziaul Haq\u2019s military regime, local media reported on Friday. The concerns were highlighted at events held in Islamabad to pay tribute to veteran […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"yoast_head":"\n
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