Abstract
As a backbone of reporting in war and conflicts, fixers offer essential assistance to the foreign correspondent in conflict zones, also in Pakistan. With valuable local knowledge and contacts, fixers can arrange travel to secure entry of foreign correspondents into conflict zones in addition to securing interviews with otherwise unattainable figures, while offering reliable translation services. Pakistani media, despite being one of the largest and most developed in South Asia, remains under the strict control of powerful military establishment and government, while seeming to mirror the overarching government sentiment with a distinct lack of research-based news. Challenging this state of affairs, local journalist fixers seek to conduct research and investigative journalism, making them an attractive asset for western correspondents travelling to Pakistan. Based on data from interviews with local fixers and journalists in Pakistan, this article reveals the many security problems for local fixers in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions in Pakistan. It also shows that the fixers’ rights and interests are not protected by media organizations or the governments. Additionally, fixers face increasing censorship from security agencies and death threats from militants. This study discusses the harsh realities fixers face in the conflict zones of Pakistan where international press lack access due to increasing restrictions imposed by the government, and the violence perpetrated against media workers by the Islamic State and other radical groups, like Taliban and Baloch separatists.
Highlights
The Need for Fixers in PakistanWhen armed men stormed a five-star luxury hotel in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province in the southern port city of Gwadar in May 2019, the attack quickly triggered international media coverage
From the data collected through interviews it is evident that fixers and foreign correspondents face serious threats to their personal security when reporting from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces
While threats come from the Islamist militants, Pakistani military, and intelligence agencies, a local fixer interviewed from Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, says that the least acknowledged threats they face in the province are that of the military, the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), the country’s powerful spy agency
Summary
When armed men stormed a five-star luxury hotel in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province in the southern port city of Gwadar in May 2019, the attack quickly triggered international media coverage. If local journalists from larger cities of Pakistan like Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad visited the city aftermath of the attack, they had to approach Bahram to arrange their meetings with government officials and local ethnic Baloch people. Those writing copy for international press agencies were standing tall on the shoulders of unknown giants like Behram Baloch. Foreign journalists are not allowed to move outside of the capital city Islamabad without permission, and they are required to hold the NOC to travel to Pakistani conflict zones (Khan, 2019) They rely on fixers to report stories. 3) How and why are fixers threatened during their work for the western media in Pakistan’s volatile regions?
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