Pakistan: List of journalists who have had "problems" with the Sharif government following the February 1997 elections
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK28657.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: List of journalists who have had "problems" with the Sharif government following the February 1997 elections, 1 January 1998, PAK28657.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab2ab0.html [accessed 4 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A list of names of journalists who have had "problems" with the Sharif government since the February 1997 elections could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, the following information may be of interest.
On 9 September 1997 Humayun Fur, Peshawar bureau chief of the Urdu daily newspaper Mashriq, was sentenced to five years hard labour by a military court allegedly for spying (Index on Censorship Nov.-Dec. 1997, 119). On 28 June 1997 Fur was taken by plainclothesmen who had introduced themselves as "government officials" (AFP 5 July 1997; ibid. 29 June 1997). No reason was given for his detention at the time he was taken (DPA 10 July 1997). Please see the attached Amnesty International Urgent Actions for further information on the Fur case.
On 16 July 1997 police from Al-Fatah police station raided the Karachi offices of the daily newspaper Ummat and the weekly newspaper Takbeer (Index on Censorship Sept.-Oct. 1997, 177). Index on Censorship states that, according to police sources, these raids were unsuccessful attempts to arrest Takbeer's editor Sarwat Jamal Asmi, reporter Shah Rukh Hasan and Ummat editor Rafiq Afghan, who had published an article that allegedly provoked the killings of two sons of the deputy superintendent of police (ibid.). Index on Censorship is not clear whether Asmi, Hasan and Afghan, or only the latter, were involved in the publishing of this particular article.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 5 July 1997. "Detained Pakistan Journalist Not Produced in Court Despite Order." (NEXIS)
_____. 29 June 1997. "Pakistani Journalist Allegedly Detained by Intelligence Agency." (NEXIS)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 10 July 1997. BC Cycle. "Islamabad Journalists Demonstrate to Demand Colleague's Release." (NEXIS)
Index on Censorship [London]. November-December 1997. Vol. 26, No. 6. "Index: Pakistan."
_____. September-October 1997. Vol. 26, No. 5. "Index: Pakistan."
Attachments
Amnesty International. 5 August 1997. Urgent Action: Pakistan: Humayun Far, Journalist. (AI Index: ASA 33/28/97). London: Amnesty International.
_____. 18 July 1997. Urgent Action: Pakistan: Humayun Fur, Journalist. (AI Index: ASA 33/24/97). London: Amnesty International.
_____. 8 July 1997. Urgent Action: Pakistan: Humayun Far, Journalist. (AI Index: ASA 33/21/97). London: Amnesty International.
_____. 7 July 1997. Urgent Action: Pakistan: Humayun Far, Journalist. (AI Index: ASA 33/20/97). London: Amnesty International.
Index on Censorship [London]. November-December 1997. Vol. 26, No. 6. "Index: Pakistan," p. 119.
_____. September-October 1997. Vol. 26, No. 5. "Index: Pakistan," p. 177.
Additional Sources Consulted
Harvard International Review. Quarterly. Spring-Winter 1997.
Herald [Karachi]. Monthly. February -November 1997.
HRCP [Human Rights Commission of Pakistan] Newsletter [Islamabad]. Quarterly. October 1997.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. February-November 1997.
News from Asia Watch [NY]. Monthly.
Research Directorate. Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. February 1997-present.
Resource Centre. "Pakistan" country file. March 1997-present.
_____. "Pakistan: Amnesty International" country file. March 1997-present.
Electronic sources: Internet.
Oral sources:
Unsuccessful attempts to contact six oral sources.
