Islamabad: Pakistani Journalist Absar Alam, who criticised the Pakistan military and the infamous Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, was attacked on Tuesday. Alam was injured in the attack. It is claimed that this attack is a warning for the media, raising their voice against the security agencies.
Absar Alam, former chairman of Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, was attacked near his residence. Attackers opened fire at Alam in the F-11 region of the capital Islamabad. The local police agency informed that investigations is being carried out into the incident. Alam avoided blaming anyone for the attack. But it is being predicted that the Pakistan military or the ISI is behind the attack.
Two days before the attack, Alam had made allegations against ISI Chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed in a social media post. In 2017, Alam posted that the ISI Chief had pressurised him to run a media campaign against the Nawaz Sharif government. It is claimed that this criticism has culminated in this attack on Alam.
In 2017, major protests had been held in Pakistan against the then Nawaz Sharif government. A serious allegation had been made that the Pakistan military and ISI orchestrated the protests. Videos of the Pakistan military taking the assistance of the extremists also had surfaced. There have been attacks in the past on the journalists criticising Pakistan military and ISI. Hamid Meer, a well-known Pakistani journalist had been shot in 2014. The members of the Meer family had accused ISI of the attack.
Since the last week, Pakistan media had been banned to analyse the riots that have broken out in Pakistan. Journalists were openly saying that the media has been instructed to present only the government position. Social media also had been banned for a day in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the organisation Reporters Without Borders has published a report regarding freedom enjoyed by journalists worldwide. Out of the 180 surveyed countries, Pakistan stands 145th and China stands 177th.
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