Overview
- Marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the Punjab chief minister said violence against truth-telling reporters must end and called responsible press freedom the foundation of democracy.
- She said the provincial government is taking steps to safeguard journalists’ rights and pledged assistance to help homeless journalists obtain homes.
- She asserted that journalism is safe in Punjab and claimed no murders or violence against journalists have occurred, a statement reported as her view without independent verification in the coverage.
- Separately, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq described journalism as an essential pillar of the state and urged the international community to act against crimes targeting media workers.
- He condemned the killings of journalists in Gaza and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and cited the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017 as evidence of Pakistan’s commitment to transparency and press access.