ISLAMABAD: May 3rd is being observed as Press Freedom Day around the world including Pakistan.

Press United to Serve Humanity (PUSH), a Pakistan-based non-profit, non-governmental, and non-sectarian consortium of journalists working for freedom of press and protection of human rights while observing the day regrets that despite such campaigns the media and media persons in Pakistan are still to be facilitated with freedom of information and protection to carry their professional duties with freedom.

In a statement issued here on Monday, PUSH pointed out that the journalists in Pakistan face life threats for their courageous investigative reporting and working in militancy-hit areas.

For objective reporting journalists who search for facts face constant threats to their lives in form of veiled threats to their family members and themselves. In addition to such veiled threats, journalists run the risk of harassment, detention, arrest, assault and even murder from influential political, government and other quarters besides the security agencies.

Besides the main hurdle the media faces in Pakistan is inaccessibility to information from different departments including the government which is violating the right to free information, the statement added.

PUSH calls for easy access to information for Pakistani media, besides asking the media organisations to provide some kind of financial protection to journalists including some sort of insurance system for them and their families.

The organisation called upon the national and international organisations working for free media to arrange workshops for media persons so that they could determine effective methods through which individual journalists, journalists’ organisations and press clubs could monitor attacks on press freedom, and support journalists and media organisations that have been victimised

About PUSH:
P ress United to Serve Humanity (PUSH) is a Pakistan-based non-profit, non-governmental, and non-sectarian consortium of journalists from the print, electronic and online media; that support freedom of the press and desire to offer their time, talents, and skills in selfless and meaningful way to serve the mankind through creating mass awareness.

Supported by the PFUJ (Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists), PUSH is determined to work together with other like-minded civil society organizations, media groups, activists and concern citizens worldwide by publicizing their news stories to global attention and to mobilize action for the implementation of the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For more details, please visit: http://push.pk or send email to: info@push.pk