Today, Pakistani journalists enjoy a lot more freedom to report and say what was unthinkable for them in the past. But this freedom comes with perils.

Pakistani journalists have every reason to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day on Thursday, the May 3rd. They have come a long way from the 1980s' authoritarian era of the Islamic military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. Today, the Pakistani media enjoys a great amount of freedom to criticize governments, politicians, the country's powerful military and its ubiquitous intelligence agencies including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). A decade ago, all this was unimaginable.

But this freedom has a price. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has become freer yet more insecure for journalists.

A recent UNESCO report ranks Pakistan "the second most dangerous country for journalists the world over" after Mexico. According to the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), 17 journalists were killed in the whole of South Asia in 2011, out of which 12 were killed in Pakistan.

Nasir Tufail, a Karachi-based journalist, who works for Geo TV, told DW that the Pakistani media was "definitely freer than before," though "not absolutely free."

Freedom to die

Journalists are threatened by both militants and Pakistani security officials

Tufail said the most perilous issue for the Pakistani journalists was to report on issues regarding terrorism and Islamism, and the journalists who were working on these issues had to be very cautious.

Imtiaz Alam, Secretary General of SAFMA, also said both state and non-state elements were against press freedom in Pakistan.

"So many journalists in Pakistan have been killed yet nobody has ever been brought to justice for these murders. The recommendations of the judicial commission investigating Saleem Shahzad's murder (allegedly killed by the ISI) have never been implemented," said Alam.

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Freedom means insecurity for Pakistani journalists