A Pakistani editor fights for freedom of expression in a dangerous land

We read much about Iraq and Afghanistan because U.S. troops are fighting there, but the most dangerous country in the world is probably Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons, many Islamic fundamentalists, and borders with Afghanistan, Iran, India and China. We need to read more about Pakistanis who stand up for freedom, including freedom of the press, which can be most difficult to achieve in rural areas, as journalist Najam Sethi is finding out.

"Pakistan's free media and conservative Islam have become powerful forces, untethered from the state that once held both in check and weakening the government's ability to shape public views," Peter Wonacott reports for The Wall Street Journal. Sethi is attempting "to tip the scales of power toward the media." He is editor in chief of the Daily Times and the Friday Times, English-language papers that lampoon the Islamists. His ability to persuade public opinion was limited because relatively few Pakistanis can read English. But he recently launched a newspaper in Urdu, the language spoken by most people in the country, despite death threats that have continued.

The Urdu paper Aaj Kal in early February "sold quickly in the conservative tribal belt, causing trouble," Wonacott reports. Sales there were suspended after two of the paper's distributors were detained by Taliban who told them to stop selling it. Editors of regional editions agreed to tone down photos of women when publication resumed, but Sethi says they are not allowed to alter the paper's editorial pages.

Pakistani journalists are usually safer criticizing the government than the militants who challenge it. "I don't want my throat slit," says an unnamed editor in Peshawar, a conservative region. Sethi told Wonacott that few papers take on Islamic militants "because they're scared. The state doesn't have the ability to protect them." The chart from the Journal shows how much more dangerous it was to be a journalist in Pakistan last year than in 2006. The nation's intelligence agencies have encouraged Sethi, 60, to leave the country for his safety; his children were relocated last week, but he and his wife, the editor of an English-language fashion glossy, remain in their home, which is now guarded by army rangers. Read more here.