World's press condemns violence against Pakistani press

"Twenty-nine journalists have been killed in Pakistan in the past five years, many of them for carrying out their professional duties. Very few, if any, of the perpetrators have been brought to justice," the board of WAN-IFRA said in a resolution issued during its meeting on Thursday (1 March) in Dubai.

The resolution called for the government to ensure that state agencies carry out their duty to protect, not intimidate, journalists. It also called on President Ali Zardari to ensure media professionals can conduct their work without fear of violence or retribution.

The full resolution can be read here.

WAN-IFRA issued three other resolutions that:

• Calls on the government of Ukraine, ahead of the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Kiev in September, to make a concerted effort to improve press freedom in the country.;

• Calls for constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression in Tunisia, and resistance to attempts to limit freedom of the press. The Board noted that how authorities handle the issue will have an impact far beyond Tunisia's borders;

• Calls on the Turkish authorities to immediately release Ahmet Sik, Nedim Sener, and six other journalists jailed in connection with the 'Ergenekon' conspiracy and to uphold freedom of expression in Turkey.