ISLAMABAD - The federal government on Friday informed the Senate that as many as 42 journalists were murdered across Pakistan during the last four years, with a maximum 15 lost their lives in Punjab and only one culprit is convicted out of total 55 nominated accused. In response to the question asked by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi told the house during the question hour that 15 journalists were killed in Punjab during the last four years followed by 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 in Sindh, and three in Balochistan. It is alarming that one only accused in Balochistan has been convicted in such killings during the last four years. Responding to the supplementary questions, the minister admitted that the situation regarding the security of journalists was critical in the country and the government should take prompt action against the culprits. The journalists should be provided special security, he added.
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According to the data shared with the house, out of 26 accused nominated in such cases in Punjab, seven were arrested, eight were either not arrested or escaped, five were under trial, two were on bail, one was released by the court, and three were killed in police encounters. Among 13 accused in KP, two were acquitted, four were under trial, one could not be arrested and six had been placed under miscellaneous category, who were either untraced or killed for other reasons. Out of 11 accused in Sindh, four were arrested and seven were facing a trial. Among five accused in Balochistan, one each was under trial and under police investigation, two escaped and one has been convicted. During supplementary questions, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed regretted that those who attack journalists are not arrested and brought to justice. He added that anchorperson Arshad Sharif would not have been murdered if culprits had been arrested and convicted in other such cases.
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Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) Senator Danesh Kumar confronted the figures provided by the government and said that at least 10 journalists have been killed in Balochistan as against three shown in the data. On this, the minister said that the same had been compiled after consultations with all stakeholders concerned including provincial police departments and the press clubs. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza proposed that a probe should be held on which subjects or stories these journalists were actively working on prior to being killed. “This will make clear the reasons for low convictions and arrests,” he added. He called for probing the cause of murder in such cases and said that this would unearth the real culprits as well.