Journalists Face Taliban Threats Over Malala

The Taliban is threatening journalists over reports on the shooting of Malala Yousufzai—coverage the militant group deems "biased." Pakistani and international journalists are facing threats, a news executive tells the Guardian, which adds that one reporter in the Swat region is under police protection after his name reportedly turned up on a "hit list." "This is the worst press the (Pakistani Taliban) has ever had," says Geo News' Islamabad bureau chief, calling reports "sustained, purposeful, and focused."

A day after the attack, the Taliban called for "balanced" coverage, the exec says—which meant highlighting the militants' reasons for shooting the 14-year-old activist. In fact, the Taliban simply doesn't understand the power of the media, says a former Afghan official; the proof is in their taking credit for the attack. For many, the much-protested Malala shooting has "provided a catharsis of the masses for all the grievances that have been building up for years," says a Pakistan media analyst. But a Taliban commander says the group has "no regrets about what happened to Malala," the Daily Beast reports. "She was going to become a symbol of Western ideas, and the decision to eliminate her was correct." Malala continues to recover in a UK hospital. (More Taliban stories.)