The world marked May 3 as World Press Freedom Day with a reality check and sombre recognition of the fact that journalism today entails many threats to life and limb of all those courageous men and women who dare to venture out and report the truth from conflict zones. The world of today is no longer a place where the rules of war and engagement are adhered to with honour. In days past journalists were designated as individuals not to be harmed as they were non-combatants. However, what we have now are many regions riddled with strife and burning in conflict. These places are hotbeds of violence and power vacuums filled by non-state actors. Journalists are actively targeted and made examples of; the truth is so terrible and so savage that reporters are killed in the line of duty. Take, for example, the fact that Islamic State (IS) militants slit the throats of five Libyan reporters just one week ago or that they killed US journalist Steven Sotloff in September last year in a brutal execution video. This is just a couple of examples. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported that 27 journalists were killed in 2015 alone. World Press Freedom Day also remembers the 12 satirists of Charlie Hebdo who were gunned down by Islamist militants in Paris. Freedoms are forever constricting and many belonging to the journalists’ community now have every right to fear for their lives. Even bloggers are not safe: in Bangladesh two secular bloggers were hacked to pieces on the streets this year for voicing their opinions. Wherever one looks around the world, whether in conflict zones or in relatively safer urban settings, those who speak their minds are being lassoed by a hangman’s noose. Pakistan is recognised as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, ranking close to Syria and Iraq, with more than 100 journalists being killed in the last one decade alone, 40 of them from Balochistan. No safeguards are provided to our reporters. Many are intimidated into silence and terrorised into not speaking the truth. The likes of Hamid Mir and Raza Rumi have been targeted but have lived to tell their tales while others have not been so lucky, eg Saleem Shahzad. Many have left the country while others self-censor just to live another day. New recommendations are being made every day by the powers that be to stifle free opinion and speech with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) moving against hate speech of the Altaf Hussain variety but not the mullah kind. We are looking towards a gag ordinance in the shape of the Cyber Crime Bill too. On top of all this our private news channels are mushrooming without the correct code of ethics and adequate training. There is no responsibility in their reporting and conveyance of opinions. All in all, freedom of the press looks bleak indeed and it does not take a special day to see that. *