To speak truth in an age and society of falsehood is considered an unforgivable crime; to unmask the hidden cruelties and atrocities of the rulers of the world is taken as a revolt against the prevailing mercantilism, weapon-producing factories, and war-mongering leaders; to write against war and expose the sufferings of the innocent victims, including helpless children, women, and old people, becomes a sin of the highest magnitude in the age of greed and deception. Thus, every effort is made to stifle the voices of those sane, enlightened, and rebellious people, who are a threat to the existing system and rulers of the world.

The latest report by the Freedom Network, the Annual Impunity Report 2024, depicts a bleak picture of press freedom in the world, especially in war-plagued regions and Pakistan. According to CPJ, at least 134 journalists have been killed, 41 injured, and 71 arrested since Israel declared war on Hamas following its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli hostilities have not only spread in Gaza but also in the West Bank and Lebanon.

According to the report, “as of November 1, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 134 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine, the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s population, and the destruction of 80% of its buildings. CPJ is investigating more than 130 additional cases of potential killings, arrests and injuries, but many are difficult to document amid these harsh conditions.

“Since the war in Gaza started, journalists have been paying the highest price – their lives – for their reporting. Without protection, equipment, international presence, communications, or food and water, they are still doing their crucial jobs to tell the world the truth,” said CPJ Programme Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna in New York. “Every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go to exile, we lose fragments of the truth. Those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.”

The CJP report states that at least five journalists, namely Issam Abdallah, Hamza Al Dahdouh, Mustafa Thuraya, Ismail Al Ghoul, and Rami Al Refee, were directly targeted by Israeli forces. The report labels these killings as murders. Moreover, the CPJ is still working to verify the details for confirmation in at least 22 other cases that relate to possible targeted killings.

To target and deliberately kill civilians and journalists is a war crime in International Law. The International Criminal Court has already announced in May that it was seeking arrest warrant applications for Hamas and Israeli leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, no action has yet been taken against Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who has categorically declared that “nothing will stop us” to destroy the “Amalekites” as this is the struggle between “the children of light and the children of darkness.”

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are ruthlessly killing the journalists for stopping them to uncover their war atrocities and crimes against the people of Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

United Nations experts have also announced that they were “alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza, in recent months blatantly disregarding international law.”

It is very tragic that Israel is killing journalists and civilians without any fear of punishment. The western world, including America, is giving full support to these atrocities by closing its eyes on these killings of journalists and the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

The report also sheds light on the bleak conditions under which Pakistani journalists are living. Press freedom has been curtailed by taking strict and unconstitutional measures by the state. Around 150 journalists were killed in the last 24 years. According to the report, “six journalists, including a YouTuber, were killed in the year 2024 in Pakistan.

The report says that 11 assassination attempts, including five murders of journalists and a digital media practitioner, occurred between November 2023 and August 2024. At least 57 violations, including assaults, legal harassment, and threats, were also recorded during the reporting period.

According to the report, “most violations were recorded (37% or 21 out of 57 cases including three murders) in Sindh followed by Punjab where 23% violations (13 cases) were recorded. Islamabad was the third most dangerous area for journalism in 2024 with 21% violations (12 cases). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was fourth with 12% (seven cases including murders of two tribal journalists) while Balochistan recorded 3.5% violations (two cases).

TV journalists faced the brunt of these cases – 30 in total which amounted to 53% followed by print media with 35% cases while digital journalists 10% and radio journalists two % faced different kinds of threats during the reporting period. Among the journalists who faced these threats also included nine percent women journalists. The report also identified threat actors allegedly involved in these cases. These included government authorities (47 percent) followed by political parties (12%) and miscellaneous identified actors (16%). Unknown actors stood at 25 percent.

Journalism and democracy go hand in hand. Without journalists’ protection, no country can make progress. The state should realise this and take every action to give protection to journalists and bring perpetrators to justice. The state cannot stop the flow of ideas and eclipse the light of wisdom by using draconian methods. This is the lesson of history.