In May, 4 journalists were killed in Pakistan and others attacked

On May 21, Awami Awaz newspaper reporter Nasrullah Gadani suffered serious gunshot wounds in an attack in the Kori Goth neighborhood of Ghotki district in Sindh province, Pakistan. Gadani died in a Karachi hospital on May 24, becoming the fourth journalist to be killed in the country this month. (Screenshot Awaz TV News/YouTube)

New York, May 29, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by the ongoing killings of journalists in Pakistan, including four so far in May, and calls on Pakistani authorities to promptly investigate these incidents, hold those responsible to account, and end the wave of violence against journalists in the country.

These killings represent the highest number of journalists killed in a single month in the South Asian country since CPJ began collecting data in 1992.

On May 21, Nasrullah Gadani, a reporter for the local Sindhi-language newspaper Awami Awaz, was attacked by armed assailants in the Kori Goth area of ​​Ghotki district in Sindh province. He suffered severe gunshot wounds to the abdomen, according to Zia ur Rehman, a local journalist in Karachi who spoke to CPJ, and several media reports. Gadani died in a Karachi hospital on May 24.

On the same day, Kamran Dawar, a journalist from North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was killed by unknown assailants in front of his house in Tappi village, according to several media reports.

And in early May, journalists Ashfaq Ahmad Sial and Muhmmad Siddique Mengal were killed in separate attacks in Pakistan’s Punjab and Balochistan provinces.

The CPJ has not yet been able to confirm whether the murders are related to its work.

Separately, Syed Iqrar ul Hassan, a well-known TV anchor of ARY News, and his three team members were attacked by a group of people in Gujranwala city of Punjab province on May 22. Hassan and his team sustained minor injuries, according to media reports and the independent non-profit media organization Pakistan Press Foundation.

“Pakistani authorities must immediately investigate the brutal murders of journalists Nasrullah Gadani and Kamran Dawar, as well as other journalists killed and attacked, and quickly publish the findings,” said CPJ Asia Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif must take steps to stop the alarming rise in the killings of journalists across Pakistan and ensure the protection of media workers at the national and local levels.”

According to News International, police in Sindh have arrested at least three suspects in connection with Gadani’s killing. The journalist, who shared news reports on social media, was known for his brave investigations into local feudal lords, politicians, influential landowners and government officials, according to the independent newspaper Dawn.

In a video that went viral on social media, Gadani was seen riding a motorcycle alongside a convoy of a landlord escorted by police. Speaking in the Sindhi language, he said that a landlord was being escorted by police. Some of the journalist’s supporters believe the video may have been a motive for the attack, according to the nonprofit Freedom Network, but investigating police have not given an official reason.

Dawar, a freelance journalist who also ran the popular Waziristan TV on Facebook with 148,000 followers, had been covering social issues on his digital channel. Mohsen Dawar, a former MP from Waziristan, said the journalist had received death threats “for his critical views on militancy.” However, according to News Intervention, Dawar regularly voiced his criticism of the Pakistani military on his social media platforms. The identity of the attackers and the motive behind Dawar’s killing remain unknown.

In Hassan’s case, assailants attacked him and his team members with stones and sticks, poured acid on his vehicle and smashed their car windows as he, his producer, his assistant director and a cameraman arrived at the university in Gujranwala where he was to attend an event, Hassan told CPJ via a messaging app.

The attackers also chanted slogans in support of a local man who describes himself as a spiritual healer and whom Hassan had featured on his television shows, the journalist said. In an initial police report dated May 24, Hassan’s driver accused the local man of inciting the violence against Hassan, CPJ reviewed.

More than two months earlier, on March 8, unidentified gunmen attacked Hassan’s house in Lahore, but no one was injured in the incident, according to Aaj TV. Hassan is a well-known presenter with 7.1 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, and 1.35 million followers on YouTube. He had previously survived an attack in 2020 and suffered minor injuries.

Since 1992, 64 journalists have been killed in Pakistan in connection with their work. The country ranked 11th in CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index, which ranks countries according to how often journalist killers go unpunished. Pakistan has been included on the index every year since its inception.

Police in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not respond to CPJ’s emailed requests for comment.