PEC demands justice to bereaved families of murdered Pak journos

GENEVA: Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, expresses its serious concern over the murder of two Pakistani journalists within a week and demands justice to the bereaved families of Jan Mohammed Mahar  and Ghulam Asghar Khand.

Pak media outlets reported that Mahar (50), senior reporter of Kawish Television Network and a Sindhi newspaper was shot dead by miscreants in  Sukkur locality  on 13 August, just one day before Pakistan's 77th Independence Day. Two motorcycle riders attacked the scribe as he left the  office in the evening for home by his car.  Mahar was shifted to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

A week back, another reporter of Sindh province Khand (45) was murdered by unknown assailants in Khairpur locality. Associated with a Sindhi newspaper Sobh,  Khand was attacked by the gunmen on 7 August, as he was taking rest at  Ahmadpur guest house. He died on way to the hospital. Khand reportedly exposed unethical practices of some individuals in his locality and earned enmity.

“Jan Mohammed Mahar is the 33rd journalist to be killed this year across the world. We demand a fair probe into both the murders of Mahar and Ghulam Asghar Khand so that the culprtits can booked under the laws,” said PEC president Blaise Lempen, adding that often the investigations in Pakistan are delayed to give an impunity to perpetrators, and he hoped for a swift probe into assassinations of the scribes.

PEC’s south Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that Pakistan earlier lost journalist Imtiaz Baig to assailants in Punjab province on 4 May. Its northern neighbour Afghanistan witnessed the murder pf two radio journalists (Husein Naderi and Akmal Nazari) on 11 March. India recorded the killings of  Shashikant Warishe on 7 February and Abdur Rauf Alamgir on 26 June. Similarly,  Bangladesh reported the murders of  Ashiqul Islam on 9 January and Golam Rabbani Nadim on 15 June