Rwanda, New Destination for Syrians: No Visa Requirements & Investment Opportunities – What Cost of Travel ?

Monday January 2nd, 2023 by ATHR PRESS (Pro-government newspaper)

A Syrian resident in Rwanda told Athr Press that the Syrian community there has increased recently, according to Athr Press.

Several Syrians have chosen African countries as their destination in light of the difficulties they face to travel to European countries, and Rwanda is the new African country that attracts them. 

Once a Syrian chooses his destination, the search for the advantages of the country he will travel to begins. What does Rwanda offer to Syrians and what is the cost of traveling to it? 

Travel Cost: 

A Syrian resident in Rwanda told Athr Press that the Syrian community has increased recently, and the cost of travelling to the African country ranges between 600-850 dollars (round trip) from Beirut airport. 

As for the cost of the Rwanda visa, unlike other countries, it does not require a prior visa but can be obtained immediately upon arrival in the country. It costs about $ 50 and allows the holder to stay for 30 days in the event of a visit visa or 90 days in the event of a visa to look for work, investment, or treatment. 

Areas of investment: 

As for the reason that prompted Syrians to choose Rwanda as their destination, it begins with the fact that it is a country that does not require a visa from Syrians, in addition to the availability of great investment opportunities in it. 

A resident in Rwanda told Athr Press that it is difficult for an expatriate to get a job if he is not contracted with a company. If there is a contract, salaries range between 2-3 thousand dollars, and increase and decrease according to specialization. Individual job opportunities “waiter, for example,” may have salaries between 100-200 dollars, given that Rwandans accept to receive only $ 50 salary, which makes reliance on them greater in these areas. 

He continued: The first projects eligible for investment are in the agricultural sector, which is very successful due to the availability of water because it is a country rich in lakes. There are Syrians who have succeeded in agricultural projects, including corn cultivation.

He added: The poultry sector is successful because of the demand for chicken (broiler for $ 4), and there is a great demand for eggs. The red meat sector is also successful (a kilo of meat is $ 3).

Among the successful and eligible areas for investment are also the curtain sector and the plastic industries sector. The unsuccessful and undesirable sectors, according to him, are perfumes and beauty salons. 

The government in the State of Rwanda provides a lot of facilities for everyone who wishes to travel, work, and invest in it, including, as we mentioned, that a person wishing to enter Rwanda does not need a travel visa; all he has to do is buy a flight ticket and go to Rwanda. The government seeks equality between local and foreign investors, and therefore there is no need to obtain a travel visa of any kind. 

 

Jail time hardened Lula’s resolve to tackle poverty over profit

Lula takes office today for an unprecedented third term, capping a dramatic turnaround for one of the world’s most enduring political leaders, who first ran for president in 1989. — Reuters pic

Sunday, 01 Jan 2023 

BRASILIA, Jan 1 — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s 580-day stretch behind bars imbued him with a renewed sense of social justice, the leftist’s allies and confidants said, convincing him of the need to prioritize ending poverty over boosting profits.

Lula takes office today for an unprecedented third term, capping a dramatic turnaround for one of the world’s most enduring political leaders, who first ran for president in 1989.

Jailed for graft in 2018 - the year right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro was elected - Lula’s convictions were overturned in 2019, allowing him to oust Bolsonaro in October’s election.

As he strives to unite a nation riven by economic woes, a bruising pandemic and Bolsonaro’s far-right populism, Lula is looking to his prison days for inspiration, allies and confidants told Reuters.

He learned from three failed presidential bids to tone down his leftist ideals and make peace with Brazil’s powerful private sector during his 2003-10 presidency. But Lula 3.0 plans to double down on fighting poverty, ending hunger, and attacking racism, allies said, while also rewarding loyal Workers Party (PT) jail visitors with key cabinet positions.

“Prison reinforced the sense that he has a duty above all to the poor in Brazil,” said Tarso Genro, a former PT governor of Rio Grande do Sul and a close Lula associate. “He went to prison strong and came out stronger.”

The more ideological Lula who emerged from jail in 2019 should not be a cause for concern, friends and allies said. He is still the same pragmatist who honed his powers of persuasion as a union leader in the Sao Paulo auto plants of the 1970s, they added.

Lula aides have encouraged comparisons with former South African leader Nelson Mandela, who spent over a quarter of a century behind bars as an opponent of the country’s apartheid.

But many on Faria Lima, the so-called “Brazilian Wall Street,” who fondly recall the business-friendly Lula of the early 2000s are holding their breath, worried that increased social spending and a loyalist cabinet will damage Brazil’s fiscal credibility and usher in a new era of graft-stained statism.

“The initial reaction to Lula 3.0 on Faria Lima is not favorable,” said economist Andre Perfeito, referring to the market dip after Lula’s spending proposal was announced. “Many investors bet on Bolsonaro winning and they almost got it right, so it is natural they are not happy.”

Recent cabinet appointments - including PT leader Fernando Haddad as finance minister - have also troubled some investors.

Lula also recently named PT stalwart and economist Aloizio Mercadante as head of national development bank BNDES, which during previous PT governments lent billions of reais to projects consumed by allegations of waste and graft, though bank officials have said they were transparent.

Lula’s spokesman Jose Chrispiniano said the president supported fiscal responsibility and believes that strengthening the economy is the best way to combat poverty.

“He does not see any contradiction between caring for the poorest and promoting growth. On the contrary, he thinks caring for the poor and giving them the opportunity to work and consume is what generates sustainable growth,” he told Reuters.

Reading behind bars

Lula’s new-found social awareness was ignited by reading books on race, slavery and hunger behind bars, as well as biographies of Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela, according to his website. He also perused “Lulismo in crisis,” a critical review of his movement and its missteps by his former press secretary Andre Singer.

It was augmented by his relationship with Rosangela da Silva, or Janja, a PT activist 20-years his younger whom he married on release and who looks set to be a key political player. Lula became a widower when his first wife Mariza died the year before he went to jail.

Janja - who helped organize Lula’s election certification and today’s inauguration, as well as advising on cabinet choices - was among hundreds of PT true-believers who camped outside his prison in the southern city of Curitiba.

“Good morning, President Lula,” his devotees would chant as the day began, followed by “Good night, President Lula,” as he went to bed.

From his 15-square-meter cell on the third floor of the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba, Lula set about reorganizing the PT and managing his legal defense. It was there he planned the failed presidential campaign of Haddad, a regular visitor who lost to Bolsonaro in 2018.

When he left prison, Lula was determined to set the record straight on his imprisonment and said he wanted to be re-elected to clear his name in the people’s court. He called his imprisonment a political witch-hunt, fabricated by the right to keep him from running in 2018.

Another close aide, PT Senator Humberto Costa, said Lula matured politically in jail.

“What drove him to run again was the need to leave his mark, not just politically but historically, by bringing lasting change to Brazil,” Costa said. — Reuters

Surfer creates island eco-haven with ancient knowhow

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Image caption,

Javier Lijo chose the plot of land for the waves nearby but he soon got to work improving it

By Daniel Harkins

BBC

Bastimentos Island, Panama

When Javier Lijo bought nine acres of deforested land atop a Panamanian island, he had an eye on the waves below.

A keen surfer, the Argentine had always dreamed of a leisurely life surfing the sea, away from the car-filled giant metropolises of Latin America. But a love of sustainable living took him in a different direction.

Over 20 years, and with the help of the local indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé people, he turned his land on Isla Bastimentos, on Panama's Caribbean coast, into a thriving, forested eco-haven.

Mr Lijo hopes his example can serve as a model for others who are looking to reforest cleared land

Image caption,

Much of the vegetation has since grown back and the buildings are hidden among the foliage

The 52-year-old pulls down the soaked leaves of one plant as he guides visitors on a tour of his Up in the Hill eco-farm, explaining that water retention in this particular species is so great "you can shower with it".

To the uninformed, his land looks wild. But much of it is farmed: one part has timber trees for making furniture, in another cacao trees for chocolate, near the top a garden for herbs, and everywhere throughout the forest a variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Most of the products he sells locally.

Image caption,

Cocoa is just one of the many things Javier Lijo grows on his eco farm

It is a big change from when Mr Lijo bought the land in 1996. Then it was cleared grazing land for cows, full of mosquitoes and flies, but he fell in love with it anyway.

As he began to manage the land, he read about the theory of permaculture - a sustainable way of living that emphasises recycling and reducing impact on the planet. From that, he had an idea for an eco-haven farm free of pesticides, where everything had a use.

He said that his vision was one where "education, working with the community, diversity of materials in the farm, different ways to make money and live" would all come together.

First he had to learn the basics, and for that, he turned to the indigenous people who have been managing Panama's forests for centuries.

The indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé have a number of nearby settlements.

Mr Lijo first met 53-year-old Benjamín Aguilar in 2000 when he asked him for help cutting trees on the farm.

IMAGE SOURCE,COURTESY JAVIER LIJO

Image caption,

Benjamín Aguilar is a member of the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous group

Soon Mr Aguilar was advising him on how to manage the land, what to plant, and what trees to use for timber.

"I taught him how to produce cacao, how to ferment it and the time it takes to roast it," Mr Aguilar recalls.

Mr Lijo says that the Ngäbe-Buglé have shown him "everything" he knows about how to manage the land. "They have a lot of knowledge - it's generation after generation, hundreds and hundreds of years."

He is not the only one who has realised the value of indigenous knowledge to forest conservation, especially as more than half of Panama's mature forest is located in indigenous territory.

One of the world's foremost tropical biology research institutes, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), runs several projects in which its scientists work alongside indigenous peoples.

Prof Catherine Potvin, a research associate at STRI who has worked with indigenous people in Panama for more than 20 years, explains why the approach works so well.

"Indigenous people cultivate to not necessarily become rich and make big enterprise. They don't have this concept of economic growth," she says.

"They're just seeking sustainability. They want to sustain themselves and their territory over the long term."

Indigenous land management also provides "green infrastructure" that can protect the environment, such as soil in intact forests which can absorb water to prevent flooding and release it during the dry season to prevent droughts.

Mr Lijo has noticed that the quality of the soil on his land has improved since he started reforesting. There is also more biodiversity with a variety of animals such as monkeys, birds, bees and armadillos returning to the farm which before was used to graze cattle.

Most notable are the strawberry dart frogs. A nearby beach is named after them, but their numbers had dwindled as tourism and clearing for farmland on the island threatened their habitat.

Image caption,

Strawberry dart frogs can now be spotted quite regularly

"For more than three years (after buying the land) we never saw the frogs but now they are everywhere," Mr Lijo explains.

His work is a microcosm of what is taking place elsewhere in Panama.

Jefferson S Hall is a staff scientist at STRI who has led reforestation efforts which have protected the Panama Canal from floods.

In October, the institute reached an agreement with the Ngäbe-Buglé to create a reforestation project on their territory which will capture carbon and improve the ecosystem.

"People were initially sceptical as they have seen outsiders make lots of promises, promises that they did not keep," Mr Hall says.

"We are at the beginning of a long-term relationship. We are at the start of our learning curve. We have been impressed, but not necessarily surprised, at how enthusiastic people are to plant trees."

As for Mr Lijo's project, Mr Hall is adamant that it may be small but he is convinced even small efforts have the potential to prove helpful.

"One of my often repeated phrases is that reforestation has to be done one landowner at a time," he says. "So, good for the person who has done it."

SDC Calls For Syrians To Confront Damascus-Ankara Rapprochement

Monday January 2nd, 2023 by NORTH PRESS (Kurdish agency)

           

The SDC called on the Syrians to come together and unite to continue their project of achieving freedom, according to North Press.

he Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) said on Friday they were deeply suspicious of the meeting held between the defense ministers of the Syrian government and Turkey.

This came in a statement published by the SDC on its official website on the background of the meeting held in Moscow between Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar and the head of its National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Hakan Fidan, on one hand, and Syrian Minister of Defense Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk on the other along with Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu on Dec. 28.

“We strongly condemn the continuation of the Syria bloodshed by the Justice and Development Party for the sake of preserving the authoritarian power of Damascus,” the SDC statement read.

The SDC is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). It was founded in 2015 and includes all the communities of north and east Syria.

The SDC called on the Syrians to come together and unite to continue their project of achieving freedom, dignity, and democracy.

The Syrian Democratic Council called for confronting this alliance [Syrian-Turkish] and toppling it.

 

Militiaman Killed in Central Iran Protest, State Media Says
January 01, 2023
Agence France-Presse

A UGC photo posted on Twitter Jan. 1, 2023, purports to show a snapshot of one of the protests raging Sunday in Semirom, among other Iranian cities.

TEHRAN —

A member of Iran's security forces has been shot dead during protests in the city of Semirom, state media said Sunday, more than 100 days after Mahsa Amini's death sparked nationwide unrest.

Iran has been rocked by protests — dubbed "riots" by the authorities — since Amini, 22, died in custody September 16 following her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

"A Basij member was killed in the city of Semirom by armed criminals," official news agency IRNA reported, referring to the paramilitary force linked to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

IRNA said protesters had gathered late Saturday in the city, about 470 kilometers (290 miles) south of the capital Tehran in the central Isfahan province.

They rallied in front of the regional administration building and other locations in Semirom, it added.

"Security forces were deployed to establish order in the city, and in some cases, clashes occurred with several rioters," the report said.

Iranian officials say hundreds of people have been killed in the nationwide unrest, including members of the security forces, and thousands have been arrested.

Tehran accuses hostile foreign powers and opposition groups of stoking the unrest.

Last month, Iran executed two men, both 23, who had been convicted of attacks against security forces in connection with the protests.

The judiciary has said nine others have been sentenced to death. Campaigners said this week dozens of protesters also face charges that carry a potential death sentence.

IRAN 

Mass attack on young woman in Sulaymaniyah

A young woman was chased and beaten by dozens of men at a motorbike and car show in Sulaymaniyah. The lynching attempt led to protests, during which seven people were arrested.

ANF
SULAYMANIYAH
Saturday, 31 Dec 2022, 19:26

At a motorbike and car fair in the southern Kurdish metropolis of Sulaymaniyah, almost a hundred men attacked a woman. The young woman wanted to participate in the annual event in the Hiwan district and was almost lynched because of it.

Videos circulated on digital networks show the woman being chased and beaten by dozens of men. The sexist violence is celebrated and filmed by those present.

The parliamentary speaker of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Rêwas Faeq, condemned the lynching attempt on Twitter.


"These 'men' brutally attack a young woman who, like all of them, is visiting a car and motorbike show. They are the product of barbaric behaviour that is displayed in this region every day in a planned and organised manner towards women. A society and government that cannot break this aggressive mentality are doomed to a quick death,” Faeq wrote.

Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, whose husband is Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid (PUK) also reacted via Twitter: "I strongly condemn the attack on the young woman. Violence against women is unacceptable. The perpetrators must be brought to justice."

According to police, seven people have been arrested in connection with the attack and investigations are ongoing.

KURDS

Intelligence technology blown up at site of massacre in Paris

In Paris, police blew up a container of suspected intelligence technology near the Ahmet Kaya Cultural Centre. While police say they feared it was a bomb, the media speak of evidence destruction.

ANF
PARIS
Monday, 2 Jan 2023

Just one street away from the Ahmet Kaya Cultural Centre in Paris, where Evîn Goyî, executive council member of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union), was shot dead on 23 December 2022, along with Kurdish musician Mîr Perwer and long-time activist Abdurrahman Kızıl, a vehicle carrying intelligence equipment was discovered during a routine police check at around 8.30 pm last Friday. Instead of examining the vehicle, it was assumed to be a bomb and the car was blown up. The neighbourhood had been cordoned off beforehand. A device equipped with a Wi-Fi router could be seen in the vehicle. After the blast, it was determined that it was not a bomb. Images of the device suggest that it may be an IMSI catcher, used to intercept mobile phone traffic and Wi-Fi in the area. It appears to be intelligence equipment. For the police, the case seems to be closed as it was not a bomb. However, according to Le Parisien, the intelligence service was called in because the device was an information-gathering device, which also points to an IMSI catcher or similar device.

In view of the alleged intelligence technology, however, many speak of a cover-up and destruction of evidence in connection with the attack of 23 December. Among other things, an IMSI catcher can be used to determine which mobile phone is in which radio cell. There is strong suspicion that it was not a racist lone perpetrator but the Turkish secret service that was behind the murders in Paris.

Between War and Red Tape, Many Iraqis in Legal Limbo

January 01, 2023
Agence France-Presse

Children walk to school in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Dec. 11, 2022.

MOSUL, IRAQ —

Married for over a decade, Alia Abdel-Razak is one of a million Iraqis deprived of crucial civil status documents, often caught in legal limbo in a country paralyzed by bureaucracy and the ravages of war.

The 37-year-old must overcome countless hurdles just to get her children into school, and she cannot register her family to obtain the food subsidies she and her husband so desperately need.

A mother of four, Abdel-Razak relies on a pro-bono lawyer from aid group the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to help her navigate the labyrinthine processes required to get her papers in order.

Like many others, she struggles with endless red tape — but also the fallout from the country's grueling battle to defeat the Islamic State group — to obtain documents like marriage and birth certificates.

"I don't have the means, lawyers want $300-500. Where can I get this money when I don't even have enough to eat?" she told AFP.

Her dilapidated Mosul apartment bears witness to her daily struggle, with its bare concrete floors and broken windows patched up with cardboard.

She was married in 2012 and gave birth to her first daughter a year later.

But in 2014, IS seized Mosul and declared it the capital of its "caliphate," driving out local officials in favor of their own administration.

Alia Abdel-Razak, a woman deprived of crucial civil status documents, is pictured with 3 of her children in her home in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Dec. 11, 2022.

Restricted freedom

The absence of civil status documents obstructs access to basic services such as "education, health care, and social security benefits," according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

It can also "lead to restricted freedom of movement, increased risk of arrest and detention," the agency says.

Abdel-Razak's lawyer has launched a legal process to have her marriage and children officially recognized, with a decision expected in January.

In the meantime, they have scored one small victory — at nearly 10 years old, her firstborn, Nazek, has just joined school for the first time.

But to obtain some of the documents requested by the judge, it took three visits just to get the intelligence services' seal on some papers.

One major hurdle has been the fact that her jailed brother is accused of having ties with IS.

One of the children of Alia Abdel-Razak, a woman deprived of crucial civil status documents, is pictured in her dilapidated home in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Dec. 11, 2022.

According to the U.N., 1 million Iraqis are living with at least one missing civil status document in a country still struggling to recover five years on from IS' defeat back in 2017.

Marriage contracts agreed under the jihadi group's rule have yet to be recognized, along with the children born out of these unions.

On top of that, many of the civil bureaus that kept such documentation on record were destroyed when IS rose to power or in the yearslong battle to drive the jihadis out, according to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Migration and Displaced Persons.

In cooperation with the interior ministry, his ministry coordinates mobile missions in camps to allow displaced people to obtain their missing documents, Ali Jahangir said.

IRC communications coordinator, Jordan Lesser-Roy, pointed to the work of nongovernmental organizations in raising awareness among state bodies and reducing the waiting time for such paperwork.

"You need mayoral approval for these processes... and then of course you need policy change," she said, calling for budget increases to the Civil Affairs Directorate and for more "mobile missions."

I can't go anywhere

In a report published in September, aid groups including the IRC pointed to the added complexities faced by families "with perceived ISIS affiliation."

To obtain a birth certificate, mothers must provide DNA samples from up to three male relatives, and these documents can only be obtained in Baghdad.

They must also provide "evidence of the whereabouts of the child's father in the form of a death certificate or evidence of incarceration."

This is "an impossibility for many households where the head of household died or disappeared during the conflict," according to the report.

Hussein Adnan, 23, lost his ID card while fleeing the battle against IS in 2017. He was subsequently arrested and spent five months in detention before he was declared innocent.

He was married and had a son under the jihadi group's reign.

Hussein Adnan (L) who lost his ID card while fleeing the battle against the Islamic State (IS) group in 2017, is pictured in the offices of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Dec. 11, 2022.

With the help of an IRC lawyer, Adnan was able to obtain a divorce after having his marriage and his six-year-old recognized, though he has yet to obtain a birth certificate for his son.

The process was further complicated as his ex-wife remarried and became pregnant again in the interim.

He was "beaten and tortured" while in detention and, despite family pressure to work, he remains frozen by fear of another arrest. "I can't work or go anywhere... I'm staying at home until my ID card is issued," he said.

Press Freedom in Pakistan 2022: A flurry of cases, a high-profile murder and political rhetoric targeting the media

A boy lights a candle to pay tribute to Arshad Sharif, a Pakistani journalist killed in Kenya, at a ceremony in Karachi, 29 October 2022. RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images

Pakistan Press Foundation released a year-end report which noted that despite the change in government, "little improvement has been seen in the state of press freedom".

This statement was originally published on pakistanpressfoundation.org on 31 December 2022.

In a country where the press routinely remains under threat and faces attacks from many fronts, the media in Pakistan operated on slippery grounds in 2022 with a flurry of cases against journalists, television channel closures, charged political rhetoric enabling attacks against the media, overreach by media regulatory bodies and the killing of two journalists, including he brutal murder of one journalist on foreign soil that shook the nation.

These are the main conclusions of the report released by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) titled “Press Freedom in Pakistan 2022: A flurry of cases, a high-profile murder and political rhetoric targeting the media.”

On October 24, news broke of senior journalist Arshad Sharif’s death in Kenya. Initially there were varying accounts of what had taken place, with the Kenyan media reporting that Sharif’s death had occurred when he was shot dead in a car due to a case of “mistaken identity”. An investigation into the death was launched and the fact-finding team in its report, shared in December, found that Sharif’s death was a “case of planned targeted assassination”.

While there is a lot further to be uncovered regarding Sharif’s death and those responsible for it, the factors that led to his departure from Pakistan and his eventual murder establish a strong connection to his work. After cases were registered against him and there were reports of harassment by the FIA, in August Sharif left Pakistan. ARY News had decided to part ways with Sharif. He was in Kenya at the time of his murder.

Sharif’s ordeal from the registration of cases and his eventual decision to leave Pakistan are reflective of the environment of fear that the media has operated in in Pakistan. Journalists are made the subject of cases including sedition charges, which not only poses a legal challenge but also impacts their employability with media houses who operate with caution so as to not upset those in power.

This method of harassing journalists is not new and has been employed previously as well against journalists resulting in removal from the air, abductions, attacks and a general environment of fear and self-censorship.

In 2022, the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) recorded 2 deaths of journalists in connection to their work, at least 30 different instances of physical assault of media professionals, 2 raids at houses of media professionals and an attack on a press club, at least 12 instances of threats being issued, as well as online attacks taking on a gendered nature with attacks on women journalists, at least 10 arrests in connection with their work and case registration against at least 9 different media professionals.

Beyond the direct attacks on media professionals, the role of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has painted a picture of a media operating within strict and shrinking red lines.

Throughout the year, PEMRA issued directives banning entire topics of coverage which has deprived the public of vital information and made the work of journalists a lot more challenging. This included a directive banning live speeches by former prime minister Imran Khan. PEMRA also temporarily suspended the broadcast of ARY News and Bol News in September.

The FIA has been at the heart of many of the cases registered against media professionals and also initiated inquiries against others. It was during the course of this year that the investigative agency was restrained by a high court to stop harassing journalist Arshad Sharif, which is reflective of their overreach and the harassment journalists have faced at the hands of state bodies.

During 2022, political transition and a packed year of political developments appeared to impact the work of the media. Cases were registered and arrests of journalists took place. In one such instance, on July 5, then Express News anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan was arrested. According to his legal counsel, as many as 17 treason cases had been registered against Khan.

More directly related to the political upheaval, protests including the long march by the the political party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), after their removal from the federal government, led to widespread acts of violence against media covering the event. At least six different instances of violence were recorded against the media during PTI rallies in May.

In the most heartbreaking was that a women journalist, Sadaf Naeem, a reporter of Channel 5 television, was killed after she was run over by the container transporting PTI leader Imran Khan. This incident is a tragic reminder of the lack of safety procedures training provided to media workers. It also serves as a reminder for the need for safety legislation to be implemented and made effective so that the basic safety of journalists while on the field can be safeguarded.

Political parties and their heads proved to be a source of instigating violence against the media. With the country at a peak of political polarization, rhetoric led by political parties made evident with the polarization of the media.

Imran Khan, while still the prime minister, labeled members of the media to be mafia and blackmailers. He continues to use defamatory language against the media and recently highlighted the sexist nature of attacks against women journalists when he implied Gharidah Farooqi was asking for harassment by entering male spaces.

Despite a new government at the helm of the Pakistan Democratic Movement led by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, little improvement has been seen in the state of press freedom. The new government came to power with big promises of accepting criticism and ensuring media freedom, but the continued attacks on the media currently in Pakistan paint a different picture of the reality.

Link to the report

PAKISTAN

PHARMACEUTICAL FIRMS THREATEN PROTESTS FROM JANUARY 5

LAHORE: The pharmaceutical firms have threatened to start protests from January 5 to mount pressure on the federal government for addressing the sector’s issues, ARY News reported on Sunday.

The country is facing an acute shortage of life-saving drugs due to the wrong policies of the federal government. After facing troubles, the pharmaceutical companies threatened to start protests on January 5.

According to details, insulin for diabetes patients vanished from the market, whereas, several medicines for kidney and cardiac diseases are also unavailable in the pharmacies.

Pakistan Drug Lawyer Forum President Noor Meher told the media that the new stocks of medicines have reached Karachi port, Lahore dry port and other ports of the country but the authorities were not giving clearance.

Meher said that 91 per cent of raw materials for medicines are imported to Pakistan. He added that the employees of the pharma industry are forced to take to streets to protest.

He announced that all pharmaceutical companies will be shut down from January 5 and their employees will stage protest demonstrations across the country.