Journalist shot dead in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Dec 08, 2020
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 8 : A journalist was shot dead by unidentified people inside his house on Monday night in Dera Ismail Khan of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) lodged at Cantt police station on Tuesday on the complaint of the deceased's cousin, journalist Qais Javed had entered his house and was in his front yard when unidentified persons on a motorcycle opened fire, Dawn reported citing police. The killers escaped the scene immediately after, it added.
Azmatullah, a police official at the Cantt police station, said the initial probe suggested the attackers had been tailing Javed.
The official said the FIR had been registered against unidentified persons and no arrests had been made so far. Investigations were underway to determine the motive behind the killing, he said.
Pakistan is ranked 145th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders's (RSF) 2020 World Press Freedom Index, three places lower than in 2019.
Prime Minister Imran Khan recently claimed that there is no crackdown on the press in Pakistan. However, the arrest threats of violence against journalists clearly show the stark reality of the situation in Pakistan.
Earlier in July, a journalist named Matiullah Jan was abducted for his critical views on Pakistan's military establishment. He was subsequently released hours later.
