[Current Affairs] 08 June, 2021 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

2. Woman lawmaker and journalist survives attack

What’s going on? On June 4, Punjab Assembly lawmaker, Syeda Maimanat Mohsin (a.k.a Jugnu Mohsin), submitted a resolution in the provincial assembly, which condemned attacks on journalists and rights activists in the country. Three days later, armed assailants reportedly attacked her in Okara. She survived, and is unharmed.

The details: According to the First Information Report (FIR), Mohsin was returning from a rally when armed men held up her vehicle and opened fire on it. The suspects fled the scene and reportedly yelled threats at Mohsin as well. The FIR also states that the main accused person in the case, Muhammad Yaseen, threatened Mohsin on social media two days ago.

What’s the motive? Okara District Police Officer (DPO), Faisal Shehzad, called this a “politically motivated” incident.

Looking ahead: Police have reportedly arrested two suspects, Mukhtar Sikandar and Sultan Yasin. Police say they will arrest Yaseen soon. According to a police statement, Yaseen and six accomplices intercepted Mohsin’s vehicle and opened fire. Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari, tweeted about the incident and said it’s “absolutely unacceptable.” Mazari straight up called the attack “terrorism.” The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also condemned the attack on Mohsin. Amnesty International South Asia demanded an independent investigation and swift justice.

The context: Mohsin was elected to the Punjab Assembly as an independent candidate in 2018. Mohsin is also a veteran journalist. Senior journalist, Najam Sethi, is her husband. Mohsin is known to be a strong advocate of free press. While trying to defend other journalists with her resolution in the Punjab Assembly, she ended up facing an attack herself. Last month, unidentified assailants broke into journalist Asad Ali Toor’s apartment and beat him. In April, someone shot journalist and former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA), Absar Alam, near his home in Islamabad – he survived with some injuries.

Something to know: In 2019, the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors reported that media in the country is encountering physical intimidation and censorship. According to a 2020 report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 61 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992. In 2020, Reporters Without Borders ranked press freedom in Pakistan 145 out of 180, which is not a good score.

The bottom line: Being a journalist in Pakistan is hard enough, but being a woman journalist comes with a whole other wave of challenges. For instance, in August 2020, a group of leading women journalists issued a statement condemning what they believed was a coordinated campaign of social media attacks against women journalists and commentators whose reporting was considered critical of the govt. Online attacks included death and rape threats against these women journalists.