Bureau of south and central asian affairs, Agency

The United States on Thursday expressed grave concerns over the attack of Pakistan's leading journalist Absar Alam in Islamabad and called on local authorities to apprehend the culprits.In a tweet, the US Department of State: the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) said freedom of the press and the protection of journalists is crucial to an informed citizenry."Deeply concerning news of the recent attack on Absar Alam, a senior journalist in Pakistan. Freedom of the press & the protection of journalists is crucial to an informed citizenry. We hope for Alam's speedy recovery & call on local authorities to quickly apprehend the culprits," the tweet from the bureau read.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the "assassination attempt" on the country's leading journalist Absar Alam in Islamabad.The rights commission in a statement on Tuesday termed these "cowardly acts" of violence against journalists as an assault on an "already muzzled media."Senior journalist and former Chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA), Absar Alam, was shot in Islamabad on Tuesday.In a video message, he said, "I've been hit in my ribs" and added that he had not lost hope. He added in a video shared by another Pakist journalist, Asad Toor, "My message to those who did this is that I am not going to be scared by such tactics".Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) strongly condemned the incident and demanded that the attackers be arrested immediately. "It seems that deep state is at large against journalist community who are victims of rising crime and terrorism in the country," the union said in a statement.Pakistan continues to remain one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, and more and more scribes are being arrested for criticising the country's Army under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA).PECA, which is seen as the draconian tool to silence free speech, criminalises any speech considered to be "blasphemous" and even those who criticise state institutions.Recently, a new section was added in PECA stating that those who intentionally ridicule, bring into disrepute or defame the Armed Forces of Pakistan will be sentenced up to two years and be fined over USD 3,018.Pakistan has been ranked 145th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders's (RSF) 2020 World Press Freedom Index, three places lower than in 2019.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Bureau Of South And Central Asian AffairsFOLLOW

Bureau of south and central asian affairs, Latest News

United States officials on Wednesday (local time) joined Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) for a Senior Officials' Meeting to discuss their shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. ...

The US has said that it is "deeply disturbed" over the reports of an attack on a Sikh cab driver at John F Kennedy airport in New York City and stressed that the country has the responsibility to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable for their ...

Aurangabad, Aug 12: The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct National Eligibility Test (NET) examinations in two shifts between ... ...

Washington, July 20 The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended wearing of masks in schools for everyone ... ...

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a five-day US visit, discussed wide range of issues related to shared priorities and regional security challenges including Quad during his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary ...

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their bilateral meeting on Friday (local time) discussed regional and global cooperation between India and United States, including joint efforts to address a rang ...

Getting published in the press is something many people think is out of reach. We often look at publications like Forbes and Business Insider as reserved for only the 'special few' who got lucky and somehow made it to the top. ...

The United States on Thursday expressed grave concerns over the attack of Pakistan's leading journalist Absar Alam in Islamabad and called on local authorities to apprehend the culprits. ...