Concern rising over missing journalists

Media watchdog bodies have expressed growing concern over the fate of the number of journalists who have gone missing or have been illegally detained during the course of their work in Pakistan. The Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) on Tuesday joined international organisations, including the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, in expressing concern over the fate of journalists who have disappeared while covering stories. The latest is Mehruddin Mari, a correspondent for the Sindhi-language daily, Kawish. Mari’s colleagues allege he was taken away by police in Thatta, in the interior of the Sindh province, after visiting a police station in connection with a land dispute. He has been missing since 2 July. Ali Kazi, the editor of Kawish, believed Mari was in the government’s custody at an “undisclosed location”. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) alleged intelligence personnel had taken him. Senior police officers in Thatta have denied knowledge of Mari’s whereabouts. On Monday, the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) demanded Mari's release. CPJ executive director Joel Simon called on the Pakistani authorities to “unequivocally” state whether they were holding Mari. "It is outrageous that a journalist can simply disappear in this manner," he said. According to Reporters Without Borders (RWB), Mari is the fifth journalist to be allegedly kidnapped in Pakistan since December. In June this year, reporter Hayatullah Khan was found dead six months after he had been abducted by five armed men. He had been was on his way to report on a protest against a missile attack in the North Waziristan region of northwest Pakistan. Amnesty International said at the time that Khan may have been abducted by members of the security forces in an attempt to suppress reports that US forces were responsible for the attack. Mukesh Rupeta and Sanjay Kumer were held by the Pakistani intelligence services in Sindh for more than three months before their court appearance at the end of June, according to RWB. Munir Mengal, a television director for the independent Baloch Voice channel, has been missing since 7 April when he was abducted from Karachi airport. His family believe police and intelligence officials were involved. Asma Jahangir, the chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said the situation for journalists in Pakistan was a “deeply terrifying one”. She expressed concern over the fate of Mari. Journalists in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi have complained about an increase in harassment by police and intelligence agencies, according to HRCP. The commission said the largest number of complaints had come from the interior of Sindh and the troubled province of Balochistan.