Islamabad: A journalist was shot dead by unidentified people on Saturday evening in the Karak district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
The incident took place in the Batani Khel area, within the jurisdiction of Karak Police Station. The victim was identified as Waseem Alam, the joint editor of the local newspaper, Sada-e-lawaghir, Dawn reported.
Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered on behalf of the victim’s mother, Alam was returning home on his motorcycle when he was targeted near the Batani Khel Government School. He was subsequently rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
An official of Karak Police Station said that the investigation was underway, adding that that one of the suspects was the victim’s own father.
“His father was not present at the hospital nor did he attend the funeral,” Dawn quoted the official as saying. The official further stated that the father had been living with relatives and not with his own family for some time. The journalist’s mother has, however, not named anyone as a suspect in the FIR.
“We have not found any clue so far that suggests that the slain journalist was killed for his journalistic work,” the official added.
At least 10 journalists were murdered and several others threatened, kidnapped, tortured and arrested on trumped-up charges while discharging their professional responsibilities last year alone, Dawn reported citing the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ (CPNE) Media Freedom Report 2020.