CPJ impunity index: Justice for slain journalists in Pakistan suffers a blow

Special report claims, "Pakistani political and intelligence operatives routinely target the press for attack."

NEW YORK: Pakistan rose two spots to come in at eighth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) 2013 Impunity Index published on Thursday, the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

The special report, titled “Getting Away with Murder,” highlights unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country’s population, per million inhabitants. The CPJ examined cases of journalist murders that occurred between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2012 but have not yet obtained convictions.

Moving up two spots from last year’s rating, Pakistan came in at eight on the list with 23 unsolved journalist murders over the past decade. The report claimed, "Pakistani political and intelligence operatives routinely target the press for attack."

The special report from the CPJ quoted Pakistan Press Foundation Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali taking the government to task for the impunity in the country.

“The main reason for impunity is lack of government will to prosecute those that attack journalists. It only takes a few successes to show impunity won’t be tolerated.”

The report also underlined the 2011 murder case of Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar, whose court case disintegrated when at least six people connected to the investigation were killed.

The CPJ recognised local media efforts to speak out against impunity, such as the ‘International Conference on Promoting Safety of Journalists and the UN Action Plan on Impunity’ on March 6. The two-day conference comprised of Pakistani journalists and their international counterparts intended to discuss strategies to combat the issue of impunity in the country. It concluded with an action plan that is being piloted in five countries including Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Impunity Index rating was calculated at 0.130 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants.

India ranked 12^th on the list, the same position it held the year before, with 0.005 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants, whereas Afghanistan came in at six with 0.142 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants.

Iraq and Somalia were listed as the worst countries for impunity for the murders of journalists.