Reposted from The Baloch Hal | June 18, 2011 | SAJA Convention Kicks Off in New York

The Baloch Hal News

Where were the champions of press freedom in Pakistan when a Baloch newspaper editor narrowly survived an assassination attempt on his life, several reporters were killed and three newspaper offices were besieged?" he asked, to which respected columnist Kamran Shafi fully agreed that Balochistan was not fairly treated by the Pakistani army and the media.

NEW YORK, USA: "Balochistan is Pakistan's Las Vegas," said The Baloch Hal editor Malik Siraj Akbar, "All that happens in Balochistan stays in Balochistan." He said this while speaking as a panelist at New York City University Graduate School of Journalism during a panel discussion at the kickoff dinner of South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) annual convention on Friday.

Moderated by the New York Times Mumbai correspondent Vikas Bajaj, the panel discussion on "Press Perils in Pakistan" featured Beena Sarwar, editor Aman Ki Asha, a joint project of the Jang Group of Newspapers and the Times of India group, Kamran Shafi, leading columnist Dawn, Malik Siraj Akbar, editor The Baloch Hal and Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalist David Rohde.

SAJA Convention is the biggest event of South Asian journalists and media professionals held in North America.

Jigar Mehta, president of SAJA, said the organization provided this year a record amount of $36000 for students scholarships.

As the two-day convention kicked off on Friday night with a panel discussion on threats faced by journalists in Pakistan while performing their duties, the conference hall remained totally jam packed by correspondents and media professionals from different corners of the world.

The Baloch Hal founder and editor Malik Siraj Akbar spoke how the Pakistani media discriminated the coverage of Balochistan because of pressure from the military and complained that the Press applied selective commitment to freedom of press and liberalism.

"Where were the champions of press freedom in Pakistan when a Baloch newspaper editor narrowly survived an assassination attempt on his life, several reporters were killed and three newspaper offices were besieged?" he asked, to which respected columnist Kamran Shafi fully agreed that Balochistan was not fairly treated by the Pakistani army and the media. He added, "If you are someone as prominent as Saleem Shahzad then there will be protests for you but if you are journalist from Balochistan your death will not even be reporter in many newspapers inside Pakistan."

The use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs by Baloch political activists in response to the blackout of the news from Balochistan also echoed during the session.

Beena Sarwar said it was wrong to give credit to General Pervez Musharraf for opening up the media in Pakistan. The liberalization of the media had to happen with the passage of time and new requirements of the age.

Kamran Shafi, while supporting the democratic government in Pakistan, said no matter how defective the Zardari government was, it must be allowed to complete its tenure.

Please read this story at The Baloch Hal | June 18, 2011 | SAJA Convention Kicks Off in New York