Silencing Kashmiri media
The recent arrest of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj has sparked widespread concern about the state of press freedom and journalist safety in Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir. Mehraj is the third…
BBC raids show India’s shrinking media freedom
At around 11 a.m. on Feb 14, some 20 Indian tax officials and police burst into the BBC’s offices in New Delhi, shouting at staff to step away from their…
Our times and the media
SOCIAL media platforms, especially Facebook, and their role in our troubled times — outside of Pakistan for once — have been a topic of interest for quite a while. If…
Media and rule of law
Freedom of speech and press are the hallmarks of a free society. Media educates and informs people. It helps them form opinions on vital issues. The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees…
State, citizens and social media
Over the last five years or so, we have seen a growing number of Pakistani bureaucrats, especially deputy commissioners (DCs), actively use social media platforms to engage with citizens. This…
Anti-media trend
IT has been a bleak year in most respects. So it’s not surprising to learn that 2020 has also been a dire year for press freedom globally. Recent reports from…
Social media curbs
MOST of you reading these lines are strangers to me. What impression would I leave if, on our first meeting, I asked you questions about your salary, home address and…
Social media-fuelled lynchings shock India
The smartphone footage shows the two blood-soaked men pleading for their lives. Moments later they were dead, two more victims of lynchings sparked by rumours spread on Facebook and WhatsApp…
Gaza and Western media
An Israeli attack on Gaza was imminent, and not because of any provocations by Palestinian groups in the besieged, impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli military escalation was foreseeable because it…
Media and international conflicts
A massive revolution in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has defined the 20th century in a spectacular way. The very idea of globalisation has its origin in…
