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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) has urged the Pakistani authorities to "swiftly and impartially investigate the death threats and online harassment against senior journalists in the country, stressing on the anchorperson Hamid Mir, reported Geo News.
The Pakistani authorities have been requested to investigate the case of journalist Hamid Mir who has recently received death threats for his online comments supporting free speech. They further urged to ensure Mir's safety. This comes after Mir, who hosts the Geo News show "Capital Talk", told CJP that he had received multiple death threats on social media and warnings that his life was in danger, Geo News reported. Last week, Mir, 57, had also reported the threats to the police in Islamabad, however, no first information report (FIR) has been registered yet and no probe has been initiated, the committee said, according to Geo News. The journalist has also told the CJP that he saw at least two people filming him last week when he was in his car near his home in Islamabad. He added that the people ran away when he approached them, reported Geo News. CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi said, "The threats and online hate campaign against one of Pakistan's most prominent television anchors illustrate the severity of intimidation and pressure faced by journalists in Pakistan." "Pakistani security agencies must immediately act against those trying to silence Hamid Mir and hold them accountable," Yi added. Notably, the Pakistan senior journalist has survived at least two attempted assassinations. Earlier in 2014, he was shot and then in 2012, his driver found explosives planted under his care, as reported by Geo News. Last year, Pakistan police broke into the house of a Pakistani correspondent, Khursheed Anwar Khan, without any warrants and searched his house, harassing the family, according to Dawn. The Mianwali Police, with a dozen policemen, cordoned off the house, while women police officers searched the house without producing any warrants. Responding to the incident, journalist Hamid Mir said that journalism is becoming "very difficult" in Pakistan. In a post on social media platform X, Mir said, "Journalism is becoming very difficult in Pakistan. Security agencies are monitoring the stories filed by district correspondents and harassing them through local police. Censorship is no more a secret, constitution turned into a joke." (ANI)
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