Pakistan: Journalist says he was threatened for reporting on alleged corruption; incl. co. response
In December 2022, Pakistani journalist and editor of The Pakistan Daily, Hamza Azhar Salam, ran a story alleging that in 2019, founder of Bahria Town Malik Riaz helped a former Prime Minister engage in corruption.
The day after the story ran, Hamza Azhar Salam said he received a threatening phone call from a representative of Bahria Town who warned Salam of dire consequences and an “alternate to legal routes” if he did not delete certain tweets.
Salam told The Pakistan Daily minutes after the call that he, "offered to publish Bahria Town’s complete version, however, the representative did not seem interested in a reasonable conversation and proceeded to issue threats to my life." Salam is also being summoned by Riaz to pay 10 billion rupees (more than 40 million euros) in damages. Reporters Without Borders has condemned the threats and called on Pakistan’s government to guarantee the journalist’s safety.
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Bahria Town to respond; the response is available below. A rejoinder from Hamza Azhar Salam to Bahria Town's response is also available below.