No News Is Bad News: Pakistan

Liberalisation of media licensing has produced greater variety and choice in Pakistan over the past decade, particularly in the broadcast sector. At the same time, terrorist attacks and threats from the Pakistani Taliban and other radical groups have seriously heightened the problems facing journalists. Journalists also suffer from surveillance by government security institutions and restricted access to unstable border areas. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan in particular, journalists are liable to threats and attacks from militant groups, adding to the pressure which local political figures sometimes put on journalists. Self-censorship or avoidance of sensitive topics is a common survival tactic among journalists. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the FATA tribal areas, Gilgit-Baltistan, the south of Punjab province, and the Makran coast of southern Baluchistan, are areas that suffer from poor governance and social problems, and are largely ignored by the central government. This isolation is reflected in their lack of coverage in the mainstream media. These are four areas where FPU activities will be implemented.