THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their personal freedoms. Today, on World Press Freedom Day, it is worth reflecting on the state of our media and how continuing restrictions on its ability to function independently may, in fact, jeopardise individual liberties. A sobering report on this matter has been issued recently by the Pakistan Press Foundation. It notes, by way of introduction, that Pakistani media has, over the past year, “been placed in a bind with the use of more emboldened […] methods of restrictions, repercussions, intimidation and threats...”. It describes the “reality of journalism in Pakistan” as an ordeal involving “overly active forms of legal........

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