World Press Freedom Day is being observed around the world including Pakistan today.
This year the theme is ‘Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all other human rights’.
Many journalists and media workers have lost their lives in order to provide facts and figures to the masses. Let’s take an in-depth review of World Press Freedom Day and the journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty.
During the last four years, at least 42 journalists were killed in Pakistan, as per the documents submitted by the information ministry in the Senate.
The documents elaborated that out of the 42, 15 journalists were killed in Punjab, 11 in Sindh, 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and three in Balochistan.
Read more: Remembering murdered journalists on World Press Freedom Day
Here are a few things to know about press freedom around the world:
Number of reporters in jail remains at record highs
Last year was the third in a row where more than 250 journalists were jailed for their work. More than half of those were imprisoned in Turkey, China, and Egypt, according to the committee.
Journalists are facing unprecedented levels of fear and danger
According to RSF, there are a falling number of countries in which the media is able to work safely without fear or facing violence. And this is true even in supposedly safer regions, such as the US – which was classified as problematic for the first time this year.
Scandinavia is home to the most free press
Norway, Finland, and Sweden make up the top three countries in the index, while Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan occupy the bottom three places.
