Freedom of speech and expression in Pakistan RTF

Title	Freedom of speech and expression in Pakistan
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File Type	RTF
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Freedom of speech and expression : Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. "Speech" is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with relatively authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws even in countries seen as liberal democracies. Pakistan Articles 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees freedom of speech and expression, and freedom of the press with certain restrictions. Blasphemy against Islam is illegal in Pakistan. Article: 19 Freedom of speech, etc 19. Freedom of speech, etc.-Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, 1[commission of] or incitement to an offence. Freedom of Press in Pakistan Freedom of the press is complicated, in general freedom of the press is allowed but any reports critical of the government policy or critical of the military is censored. Journalists face widespread threats and violence making Pakistan one of the worst countries to be a journalist in, with 61 being killed since September 2001 and at least 6 murdered in 2013 alone. Freedom House rated Pakistan as "Not Free" in its report of 2013 and gave it a score of 64 (on a scale of 0 - 100, with 0 being most free and 100 being least free). The report brought to light widespread intimidation of journalists by various government, military and security agencies with alleged killings being carried out by the Inter-Services Intelligence. Reporters without borders has ranked Pakistan number 158 out of 180 countries listed in its Press Freedom Index of 2014. In 2013 veteran journalist Hamid Mir, a recipient of the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's second highest civil award, was shot at by unidentified assailants wounding him with bullets thrice. He alleged that the Inter-Services Intelligence was behind the attack. His TV...