In the 2023 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index, Pakistan has climbed seven positions. The nation has furthermore been referred to as one of the “world’s deadliest countries for journalists”.
Pakistan is move up seven places in media freedom index On May 3, the day the world celebrated Press Freedom Day, RSF released its yearly report on press freedom. The index rates 180 nations according to the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists there, taking into consideration things like censorship, legal constraints, and violence against journalists.
Pakistan, which was ranked 157th last year, has reportedly climbed to number 150 this year. The survey said that Pakistan remains one of the deadliest nations for journalists despite the increase in position.
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According to the research, Pakistani journalists receive threats from governments as well as outsiders and are frequently singled out for attack because they cover touchy subjects including corruption, human rights abuses, and religious extremism.
According to the organization’s research, Pakistan has vacillated between the political and military elite’s continual reassertion of substantial control over the media and civil society’s push for more press freedom since the country’s formation in 1947.
Following “changes of government that loosening media restrictions,” Pakistan has moved up seven spots in the most recent World Press Freedom Index, according to international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which released its annual report on Wednesday to coincide with World Press Freedom Day.
One of the riskiest places in the world for journalists is Pakistan. The RSF reported 93 journalist deaths during the previous 20 years in the country of South Asia, where there have also been cases of imprisonment, media censorship, internet harassment, and many other things.
” The RSF’s report for 2023 added, “Despite shifts in political power, a repeating capacity is obvious: political parties in opposition favour press freedom but are first to restrict it when in power.
Journalists are no longer allowed to report on military and intelligence agency influence in politics, according to RSF, as a result of the military’s tightening control over civil institutions.
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India, on the other hand, dropped a spot from 2022 and had a worse score this year, placing 161 on the Press Freedom Index for 2023.
The nation fell behind Pakistan as a result.
According to the research, there is an increase in violence and intimidation against journalists in India, and many have even been attacked, detained, or killed for their work.
The top three nations on the index were, in order, Norway, Ireland, and Denmark.
Other nations in the top 10 of the ranking were Portugal, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Timor-Leste. New Zealand and Canada were placed 13th and 15th, respectively, while Switzerland came in at number twelve.
Five contextual indicators—political context, legal system, economic context, sociocultural setting, and safety—are used to assess each territory’s score in the official report.
