Watchdog reports 40% increase in attacks on Pakistani journalists

Watchdog Pakistan Freedom Network on Friday declared Islamabad as the most dangerous city for journalists and reported that there was a 40% increase in attack on journalists in Pakistan.

In its report, the network said that overall, there has been a 40% increase in the attack on journalists and Islamabad had reported 51 of those cases. The breakdown showed that Sindh was in second place with 38 cases, Punjab in third with 39 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in fourth with 13 cases, Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the fifth place with nine cases and Balochistan was in the last place with eight cases.

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The network also reported that 148 different types of attacks on journalists were reported across Pakistan between May 3, 2020, till April 20, 2021.

The data showed that out of a total of 27 cases, 25 of them were related to detention or confinement, 15 were linked with violence and physical assaults, seven were of assentation attempts, six of murders, while five were related to abductions.