Case Update Status

On April 11, 2023, Mehboob Qadir Shah, chief Information Commission of Punjab, had called the secretary of the Sahiwal press club; however, he did not show up, Saddia told.

Summary of Case

"A Sahiwal-based female Journalist, Sadia Mazhar, faces harassment for filing a Right to Information on April 13, 2023. Sadia Mazhar is a former PPF fellow of Batch 3 and has been the RTI champion for PPF. Sadia is affiliated with “The Reporters” and “DW Urdu” and writes for Dawn as a freelancer. Speaking to PPF, Saddia Mazhar informed PPF that this is the third time she is facing warnings and threats from the authorities for filing RTI. “Two to three months ago, the first time I faced a warning in Karachi from the head of the Education department for filing an RTI under “The Sindh Transparency and Rights to Information Act 2016”, Mazhar said. The head denied sharing the requests via call and email. It said that he discussed the matter with the Chief Advisor and Additional Secretary of the School Education and Literacy department, Fouzia Khan, and she told him the official requirements from Saddia to entertain her requests,” Mazhar told. The official requirements include a brief background of the organization/institute, media channel, etc. “Second time I exercised the RTI on Sahiwal press club, and in RTI I asked from the information commission about the details of employees, details of land of Sahiwal whether it is leased or verified from the government”, Mazhar added. “After this RTI, the club secretary sent me a letter in which he claimed that the details I need are illegal and that Sahiwal Club is a public body. How can I file an RTI on this, and for this, they summon for filing the request constitutes an offense punishable under Section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC)” Mazhar added. The Secretary requested the commission to file a complaint against Mazhar. “I have filled an RTI request in the excise office in Lahore. The case date is fixed; right now, an official from the excise office is sensing my messages. I blocked his one number, and now he starts texting from another number,” Mazhar tweeted. On April 11, 2023, Mehboob Qadir Shah, chief Information Commission of Punjab, had called the secretary of the Sahiwal press club; however, he did not show up, Saddia told. Sadia did not file any FIR against the police or any complaint to cybercrime or FIA, as her experience complaining to FIA was unsatisfactory. Lela Asad Pathak, finance secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, has tweeted and condemned the harassment against Saddia Mazhar."

Category of Incident

Harassment

ICCS Status

ICCS Divisions: "0208- Acts intended to induce fear or emotional distress"

ICCS Group: 02081-Harassment

ICCS Class: N/A

ICCS Crime: "Acts intended to induce fear or emotional distress"

Reported By

The Reporters

Date of incident

13

Month

April

Year

2023

Name of affected person

Sadia Mazhar

Other affected persons

Not other person affected

Name of affected organization

The Reporters

Other affected organizations

No other organization was affected

Action by

By the Secretary of Sahiwal club, Anjum Habib.

City

Sahiwal

Province

Punjab

Designation

Chief editor

Professional category

Journalist

Age of victim

35

Marital Status

Compensation Details

Amount of compensation announced by government: No compensation announced

Date of compensation announcement by government: No compensation announced

Date of compensation paid by government: No compensation announced

Amount of compensation announced by others: No compensation announced

Date of compensation announced by others: No compensation announced

Date compensation paid by others: No compensation announced

FIR Details

Was FIR registered ?: No

Court Details

Was case investigated ?: No

Court where case was presented: Case is not in any court

Name of prosecuting lawyer: Case is not in any court

Date of first court hearing:

Date of last court hearing:

Status of court case: Case is not in any court

Journalist Union Status

PFUJ

Lala Asad Pathan, Finance Secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, has tweeted and condemned the harassment against Saddia Mazhar.

APNS

N/A

CPNE

N/A

PBA

N/A

Media Source Status

Media reports:

Condemn Status

Colleague of victim

N/A

Employer organization

N/A

Press Club Status

Press club 1: N/A

Press club 2: N/A

Press club 3: N/A