Renewal of year-old fatwa against media in Pakistan raises concerns

Media advocacy groups in Pakistan have condemned the renewal of a year-old fatwa mentioning certain journalists as "enemies of the Mujahideen".

The fatwa mentioned Dewa Radio, Mishal Radio, Azadi Radio, Radio Aap ki Dunya, and the BBC as targets, and included photos of two journalists Hamid Mir and Hasan Nisar, Dawn News reports.

According to the report, the fatwa accused media groups of promoting secularism and western values in their coverage of war-on-terror in Pakistan and blamed them of portraying the Taliban as terrorists and enemies of peace by refusing to use the term "martyr" for them.

The fatwa said the employees of the named media will be given an initial warning, but they would only be spared, if they end their hostility to Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda.

Meanwhile, the France-based non-profit organization "Reporters Without Borders" urged the Pakistani authorities to reinforce protection for the explicitly targeted journalists in the fatwa.

A group that supports the outlawed coalition Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for reissuing the fatwa on October 19 in the form of a post on Twitter, the report added.

The same fatwa was issued a year ago, shortly after the Taliban attack on the teenage education activist Malala Yousufzai.