NEW YORK, March 24 — A New York Times story saying Pakistan’s government protected Taliban forces was censored by the publisher’s printing partner in Pakistan, resulting in a blank hole on the front page of its international edition.
The article, a 4,800-word excerpt from a forthcoming book by Times reporter Carlotta Gall to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt next month, appeared in the New York Times magazine in the US and was intended as a front-page article of the International New York Times. While the story appears on most copies of the international edition, it does not show up in papers distributed in Pakistan, about 9,000 copies, according to the publisher.
The Pakistan printer of the Times, part of the Express Tribune newspaper in Pakistan, removed the article without the knowledge of the Times, according to Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy.
“We would never self-censor and this decision was made without our knowledge or agreement,” she said in an email. “While we understand that our publishing partners are sometimes faced with local pressures, we regret any censorship of our journalism.”
It is unclear if the Times will continue its partnership with Express Tribune.
Gall’s reporting looks at the ties between Pakistan’s main intelligence service, ISI, and the Taliban. Her article points to former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf as one of the Taliban’s protectors who knew about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts in Afghanistan.
Story, Twitter
The missing story played out on Twitter as Gall herself made light of the censorship by posting a photo of the errant edition on her account with the note: “Breakfast in Islamabad”.
People in Pakistan generally see the media in a favourable light, with 68 per cent considering its influence as “good”, behind the military at 77 per cent and ahead of religious leaders at 66 per cent, according to a study from Pew Research Centre.
The New York Times rebranded the International Herald Tribune as the International New York Times in October. The publisher, which has been steadily losing advertising revenue, has looked to establish a broader audience by appealing to readers outside the US. — Bloomberg
