New York, June 15(ANI): With at least five scribes killed in the country in 2011 so far, Pakistan might become the 'deadliest country for journalists' for the second consecutive year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has warned.
With eight dead in 2010, Pakistan had ranked as the most dangerous country for journalists last year.
The record of impunity with which they are killed is nearly and horribly perfect, according to CPJ's global Impunity Index, giving it the rank of 10th worst in the world.
"Pakistan was the deadliest country for journalists last year and now and it looks like it may be again this year, with at least five killed so far," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.
"The government is unable to protect journalists from attacks. Therefore, media owners, managers, and journalists in the field must quickly unite and together work hard on establishing and ensuring their security," he added.
The CPJ called on Pakistan media organisations to review their security and journalist safety training procedures to address the mounting number of deaths of journalists in the field.
Two journalists died and five more were injured in a double bombing in Peshawar on Saturday night, in which a total of 36 people were killed.
On May 29, Pakistani investigative reporter Syed Saleem Shahzad had gone missing in Islamabad, and his body, showing over a dozen marks of torture, was found two days later.
Journalists and human rights activists have said they believe that Shahzad's killing was payback not from militants, but from Pakistan's fearsome spy agencies that had reportedly threatened Shahzad.
According to Shahzad's reporting, last month's terror attack on a Karachi naval base was a response to the Pakistani Navy's detection of al-Qaeda cells within its ranks, and it followed failed discussions between the navy and al-Qaeda about the release of naval officers arrested on suspicions of links to the terrorist group.
Earlier: napaki.tumblr.com
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