By EuAsiaNews
Brussels : The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)announced Monday a new fact-finding mission to Pakistan and urged the new government and media to work together for a “fresh start for press freedom.”
“This mission will be an opportunity to put positive aims and realistic objectives on the table,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary who will visit the country this week.
“We expect and hope that the mood of change will reinforce the robust professionalism which is a hallmark of journalism in Pakistan,”
The mission will be the third intervention by the international journalists’ movement in a turbulent 12 months when attacks on media have accompanied temporary suspension of democratic rule and seen Pakistan suspended from the Commonwealth.
However, the IFJ and local journalists hope the election of a new government in fiercely contested elections last month will open the door to a new dialogue and backing for action to strengthen independent and ethical journalism.
Last week the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), which is hosting the mission, expressed concern over the kidnapping of two daily newspaper journalists in Baluchistan. Three weeks ago a senior journalist was murdered in Quetta, the seventh journalist to die in violent circumstances in Pakistan the past year.
Journalists fear that security agencies may be behind the latest kidnappings.
The Brussels-based IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide .