“Media Under the Shadow of Death”: Book Launch and Panel Discussion

When the truth is under threat, who dares to speak, and what does it cost them?

In his new book, veteran Pakistani journalist Mazhar Abbas traces more than four decades of the struggle for press freedom in Pakistan, drawing on his firsthand experience of censorship, state pressure and journalists’ resistance to attempts to silence them.

From colonial-era press laws and the crackdowns of successive regimes to modern digital restrictions and PECA, the book examines how power has sought to control the media, and how journalists and press organisations, including the PFUJ and Karachi Press Club, have continued to resist.

Featuring the author alongside prominent voices in Pakistani journalism, this session will explore the past and present of press freedom, the challenges facing journalists today, and the future of freedom of expression in Pakistan.

About the Speaker:

• Mazhar Abbas
  (Author and Journalist)
• Mushahid Hussain Syed
  (Former Senator and Foreign Policy Analyst)
• Hamid Mir
  (Senior Journalist and Political Commentator)
• Asma Shirazi
  (Senior Journalist, Anchorperson and Columnist)
• Absa Komal
  (Broadcast Journalist and News Anchor — Moderator)

This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.

The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
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