New Delhi, May 12: In a scathing attack on Pakistan, three international watchdog institutions on press freedom have come down heavily on President Pervez Musharraf's regime for muzzling the press and using coercive tactics against journalists who exposed the misdeeds of the government. The Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Green Press and Internews Report were unanimous that President Musharraf had failed to keep his promise to respect press freedom in Pakistan. In their latest reports, they have pointed out that editors and journalists from the print and electronic media were asked to tow the government line failing which they were harassed. The Green Press and Internews Report, released in Pakistan, documented more than 50 cases that it says amounted to ''crimes'' against press and other freedoms. Most of these actions were allegedly masterminded by the state to suppress dissenting voices. None was probed or culprits nabbed. The reports said two journalists were murdered, as many abducted, five imprisoned while 51 were physically attacked.

Shaheen Sehbai, the editor of Pakistan's most influential English-language newspaper 'The News', resigned on March 1 ''rather than submit to government pressure.''

Bureau Report