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KARACHI: Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres or RSF) on Tuesday released the 2022 World Press Freedom index, indicating that Pakistan has slid down twelve places to reach 157th position out of 180 countries and now ranks below even Afghanistan.
The country also ranks below India, Sri Lanka and Nepal but above Bangladesh, Iran and China. The top slot remained with Norway for a sixth consecutive year, followed by other Scandinavian countries, while the lowest ranking was given to North Korea.
The international watchdog takes several factors into account to calculate the press freedom score in a country or territory from 180 jurisdictions. A score of less than 40 indicates that press freedom faces “very serious” danger while scores between 40 and 55 show that journalists face difficulty in performing their work. Any score between 55 and 70 denotes a “problematic” situation.
The index shows that Pakistan was ranked 157 with a 37.99 score after falling 12 points from the previous year when the RSF ranked it at 145 with a 53.14 score.
Detailed analysis shows that Pakistani journalists faced increasing threats in January-December 2021 with the country ranking 168 on the security indicator with a 17.45 score. The economic and political indicators also flashed red with 31.92 and 39.57 scores, respectively.
Afghanistan, which was taken over by the Taliban in August 2021, ranked 156 (score 38.27) on the latest index after falling several points from 122 (score 59.81) in the previous year.
Bangladesh and Iran were also found in the same league where journalists face serious threats. Bangladesh ranked 162 (score 36.63) and Iran 178 (score 23.22).
Indian journalists have faced threats from nationalists, especially BJP supporters in recent years. Hence, the country continues to drop on the press freedom index. In the latest edition, the country has been ranked 150 with a 41 score after losing two points.
Sri Lanka ranks 146 with a 42.13 score and Nepal 76 with a 62.67 score. China ranks 175 with a 25.17 score and Russia 155 with a 38.82 score. Compared to them another major world power, the United States ranked 42 on the index with a 72.74 score.
The RSF in its report has said that unregulated online content spread disinformation and propaganda that have amplified political divisions worldwide, fanned international tensions and even contributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.