November 26, 2021- Journalist Ambreen Fatima was attacked in Lahore on Wednesday, days after her husband, journalist Ahmad Noorani, reported an explosive story regarding the military establishment and judiciary’s collusion ahead of controversial 2018 elections. An unidentified attacker reportedly struck Ambreen’s car several times with an iron object with the intention to harm her and her children, who were inside the vehicle. The perpetrator hurled death threats at the journalist before fleeing the site. The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns the attack on Ambreen and her family. Such attempts to intimidate journalists into silence reflect poorly on the democratic values Pakistan claims to hold. 

According to the First Information Report (FIR) lodged at Ghaziabad Police Station, the attacker intercepted Ambreen’s car on Wednesday, November 25, 2021. Earlier on the same day, US-based firm Garrett Discovery reported receiving threatening calls urging staffers to take back the company’s authentication of an incriminating audio clip, on which Noorani’s report was based.

In the FIR lodged the following morning, Ambreen stated that she left her house with her children at around 8pm on Wednesday. 

"When we reached an adjoining street, an unidentified person raced towards the car and struck the vehicle's windscreen three to four times with an iron object with the intention to cause me harm," she said. The journalist added that the perpetrator hurled death threats at her before fleeing the site.

The journalist associated with Nawa-i-Waqt said she did not have any enmity with anyone and sought protection from the police, who claimed to have launched an investigation into the attack.

The attack on Ambreen comes days after Noorani reported that former premier Nawaz Sharif’s conviction and imprisonment was ordered by former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar ahead of 2018 general elections because the military establishment wanted incumbent premier Imran Khan to come into power. 

Noorani’s report was published by news outlet Fact Focus on November 21, 2021, shortly after an investigative report published in The News citing a former top judge as alleged in an affidavit that the former CJP influenced judicial proceedings and colluded to deny the former premier and his daughter Maryam Nawaz bail in 2018, ahead of the general elections.

Nisar denied the allegations against him in both instances and claimed that his purported audio clip in Noorani’s story was “fabricated”. 

Nisar’s alleged audio clip was forensically examined by a leading firm in the US, Garret Discovery, according to the Fact Focus website. The firm has also confirmed the same and has reported receiving threatening calls demanding that the company take back its authentication of the incriminating audio clip. 

The explosive reports against the former CJP allegedly acting at the behest of Pakistan’s all powerful military establishment, also referred to as the deep state, sparked political sparring between the ruling political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and thrice ousted premier Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. 

It also reignited calls for investigation into the military establishment’s overreaches in the functionings of other state institutions besides demands for independent and transparent investigations into the controversial 2018 elections and cast doubts on Nawaz’s conviction. 

Ambreen also recently published a column on rising cases of sexual violence in religious educational institutions, ruffling feathers among right-wing groups. 

The Pakistani Senate recently passed a journalists’ protection bill but it is evident that deep-rooted changes are needed to ensure a conducive environment for independent journalism in the country. Pakistan ranked 145 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index 2021 and incumbent premier Imran Khan had been deemed a press freedom predator since taking office by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns the attack on Ambreen Fatima and her family. We are deeply concerned for her safety and demand an immediate and transparent investigation into the attack. Regardless of whether the perpetrator aimed to silence Ambreen or her husband, such attempts to intimidate and threaten journalists cannot be tolerated. The state and its institutions would do well to remember that journalism is not a crime. The incumbent government has repeatedly claimed that the media in Pakistan is free and independent, however, the country ranks among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to do their job. The CFWIJ urges Pakistan to ensure protection of journalists and independent journalism.