19 media workers die in Pakistan in 2010
By IRNA,
Islamabad : The year 2010 was one of the worst years in Pakistan’s history as 19 media persons lost their lives in targeted assassinations, bomb blasts and suicidal attacks, a Pakistani union of journalists said Monday.
The figures are the highest this year in whole world, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
The PFUJ said that despite heavy casualties of the media persons during performing the professional assignments, the media houses have not taken any measures for their safety and training.
The organization regretted that the media owners did not introduce insurance care to media persons working in the hostile environment in the conflict zones.
The PFUJ further contended that the year 2010 proved another deadly year for media practitioners of Pakistan who were callously deprived by media owners of job security, life insurance, training, capacity building, while they were increasingly targeted by terrorists and pressure groups.
According to the PFUJ as there was no protection of life, media persons continued to work under stress, and at least 19 media related employees lost their lives while at least 327 were wounded, tortured, and extended threats.
The PFUJ further pointed out that despite ever increasing incidents of killing, kidnapping, torture and intimidating, the media persons working in all parts of the country no remedial measures have been adopted to ensure their protection which is a constitutional as well as obligatory international protocol of the government.
The PFUJ said that ironically none of the killers of media practitioners who were killed after 9/11 were brought to justice so far which has aggravated the miseries of the deceased families as well as the media community. Moreover, majority of the media practitioners and media related employees who lost their lives were not compensated at par with the security personals, said Shamsul Islam Naz, Secretary-General of PFUJ.
The trend of kidnapping and torturing even killing has also attained a dangerous trend in these areas by unknown persons as well as security agencies yet there is none in the country to ensure the safety of the media persons, he said.
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