QUETTA: Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and prominent human rights activist Asma Jehangir has offered to voluntarily defend journalists in anti-terrorism cases filed against them in Balochistan.

A delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) comprising Zahra Yusuf, Asma Jehangir, I.A Rehman, Ghazi Salahuddin, Mohammed Hanif and Tahir Hussain visited the Quetta Press Club (QPC) and discussed the situation and challenges journalists were facing in the province.

The delegation was informed that anti-terrorism cases had been registered against 10 editors and journalists for publishing statements of the banned organisations. The cases were lodged on the directives of the then chief justice of the Balochistan High Court.

Balochistan Union of Journalist president Irfan Saeed, QPC’s representative Razaur Rehman and other journalists appraised the HRCP delegation about the security situation in the province and working conditions for their community.

“We are pressurised by the government and armed groups to follow their lines,” the journalists’ representatives told the delegation.

Ms Jehangir expressed concern over registration of anti-terrorism cases against journalists and editors.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2014

Editorial

Shocking ambush
13 Mar, 2025

Shocking ambush

The sophistication of attack indicates that separatists likely had support from experienced external players.
Suffocating crisis
13 Mar, 2025

Suffocating crisis

THREE of the five countries with the most polluted air on Earth are in South Asia. They include Pakistan, which has...
Captive grid
13 Mar, 2025

Captive grid

IT is a common practice: the government makes commitments with global lenders for their money and then tries to...
State Bank’s caution
Updated 12 Mar, 2025

State Bank’s caution

Easing monetary policy will be difficult for SBP without large, sustainable foreign capital inflows and structural tax reforms.
Syria massacre
12 Mar, 2025

Syria massacre

THERE were valid fears of sectarian and religious bloodshed when anti-Assad militants triumphantly marched into...
Too little, too late
12 Mar, 2025

Too little, too late

WHEN desperation reaches a point that a father has to end his life to save his daughter’s, the state has failed ...