A little over a month before the general election in Pakistan, the repression of the media has palpably been intensified. Curbs on the distribution of the venerated Dawn ~ at the behest of the Rawalpindi GHQ ~ over Nawaz Sharif’s exceptionally forthright interview to the paper have been “dutifully” followed up with the abduction in Lahore by unknown persons of the woman journalist and activist, Gul Bukhari. It is pretty obvious that home-truths, whether aired or in print, are becoming increasingly difficult to digest ~ the hallmark of a repressive state. The suspected culpability bears out the lament of the former Prime Minister’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, that “unknown forces are operating in the country”.

Is that a euphemism for ISI operatives? The month of Ramadan deserved better though the abduction drama has come to a merciful end with Ms Bukhari’s family confirming that she is “home and fine”. The kidnapping was intrepid, by any reckoning. The TV journalist was on her way to the Waqt TV studio for a talk-show when the vehicle she was travelling in was intercepted by people as yet unidentified. Critical in itself is the site of the abduction, specifically in Lahore’s cantonment area, which Pakistan’s civil society imagines is a high-security zone. Neither an abduction nor detention lends scope for semantic quibbling.

And the claim by the Punjab police that she was not detained holds no water. The Lahore-based Corps headquarters has egg on its face with the prompt intervention of the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists. An independent organisation working to promote press freedom worldwide, the CPJ expressed alarm over the disappearance and called on the police to ensure her prompt and safe return. Logically, Ms Bukhari’s safety ought to have been ensured by the home-grown security network. As it turned out, the authorities in Lahore were spurred to action only after the robust intervention of an entity that boasts worldwide repute. The conclusion is inescapable that a journalist, out on a professional assignment, is safe no more in Pakistan’s fragile democracy that is due for renewal on 25 July.

Ms Bukhari was on her way to the network’s studio to appear in a show when unknown persons stopped her vehicle and asked her to come out. A vocal critic of the military, she is a journalist and activist who has worked both in the broadcast and print media for several media groups in Pakistan. She was due to appear as an analyst on Waqt TV show ‘2vs2’. Unmistakable is the common strand that binds the crackdown on Dawn and last week’s abduction. Whether it is an interview with Nawaz Sharif or a television programme, it is professionalism, indeed the discharge of duty, that has been direly endangered in the Pakistan of today. The media has been shackled.