By Imran Nasir

ISLAMABAD (TSAT) - Pakistani women journalists facing online harassment campaign from abroad which pushed them into mental stress, according to the journalists.

Some prominent Pakistani women journalists accused Ahmad Waqass Goraya, an exiled Pakistani social media user, who is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to targeting them through social media.

“Since 2018, he is targeting me because i am promoting the good image of my country [Pakistan],” said Javeria Siddique, an Islamabad based journalist.

She added that Goraya is not a blogger neither activist but a social media user only targeting women journalist in Pakistan.

The Pakistani female journalists including Javeria and Sumaira Khan also shared some screen shots of the Goraya tweets which according to them he had posted from @AWGoraya Twitter account in local Urdu language, however, the The South Asia Times couldn’t publish its translation because of extreme derogatory words used against these journalists and accused them for working the country armed forces.

“ I don’t know him neither he knows me but he is spreading false tweets, using ver derogatory language against those women journalists who are building their country good image, which is not crime but duty of every citizen to love with their country,” she added.

According to Siddique, she already reported this issue to the Netherland embassy in Pakistan about using its soil against her and other women colleagues and requested the government of Pakistan to immediately take action.

Another, Pakistan journalists Sumaira Khan also accused the Netherland based Pakistani blogger to targeted her as well and trying to mentally torture Pakistani women journalists. 

"We had been facing this [harassment campaign] for long time due to such people's personal score settling games with state institutions but we tried to ignore and move on....but this time its totally response-worthy as we are journalists not a tool to settle your personal scores with the help of" Khan said .

Sumaira Khan, was the first international woman journalist to had entered in Kabul last year in August after Afghan Taliban took over the capital and most government officials and journalists were fled the country.

Khan bravery and reporting from ground in such life risking situation was widely appreciated across the world.

“Unfortunate fact is, some senior female Journalists who claim to be torch bearer against women harassment in Pakistan, didn't condemn this heinous series of statements against us due to personal acquaintance with such shady bloggers and minded company,” she lamented.

The journalists also complained from Twitter to allow its platform for using against women journalists and never took action against those who are openly violating its policies.

“He is always use Urdu language and when public reaction come than he delete his tweets,” She added.

Pakistani journalists community condemns online campaign against women journalists.

Meanwhile, the country’s journalists community expressed concerns over the growing trend of harassment and degrading female journalists on social media.

“We will not allow their voice to be suppressed under any circumstances. The federal government needs to take immediate steps to discourage this trend on a priority basis,” said the National Press Club Islamabad’s President Shakeel Anjum and General Secretary Anwar Raza in a statement.

The senior officials of the National Press Club added that Increasing incidents of harassment are reprehensible.

“ A foreigner in the Netherland, named Waqass Goraya has been started trend of abusing. harassing on senior journalists including Fariha Idrees, Gharida Farooqi., Javeria Siddique, Sumaira Khan, Mona Khan, Shifa Yousafzai, Anam Elahi, Seher Shinwari, Bushra Aamir, Ambreen Fatima, Sana Tauseef and Cynthia Richie [documentary maker], Maleeha Hashmi and others,” said Shakila Jalil, Joint Secretary of the National Press Club

She added that Goraya have continued his derogatory remarks, bad words, abusing and harassing the women journalists.

The Islamabad based journalists main body demanded from the Pakistani government to take immediate steps and take action against the ongoing harassment of their women colleagues.

“National Press Club believes that freedom of expression is a fundamental right of journalists as well as every citizen, but in exercising this right, civilization should not be lost.”

When the South Asia Times approached Goraya on Twitter for his comments regarding the allegations of online harassment of Pakistani women journalists through social media, he said “who he has harassed?”

"I will keep speaking [against] the paratroopers in media working for Pakistan army against people of Pakistan," Goraya said while accusing the journalists to working for their country army. 

“I know that before the London trial began, [some] women were asked by the agencies to tear off their clothes and report to the police station,” Goraya said in a DM message and said he will continue to speak about those who are defending Pakistani army.

He was referring, the trial of British-Pakistani national Gohir Khan, which began on Thursday in a court in London for his alleged plot to murder Goraya in 2018 in Netherland.