KARAK: On late Saturday evening, a local journalist was shot dead in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by unidentified persons, the police confirmed. The victim, identified as Waseem Alam, was the editor of a local newspaper called Sada-e-Lawaghir.
An FIR has been registered in the Karak police station on behalf of the victim’s mother. According to the report, the incident took place in the Batani Khel area as Alam was returning home on his motorcycle when he was targeted near the Batani Khel Government School.
Alam was announced dead on arrival at a local hospital as he was rushed for medical attention after the incident.
An official of Karak Police Station told local media that the investigation was underway, and the mother of the victim has named no one in the FIR. He further added that his father is one of the suspects as he had been living with his relatives over some conflict with Alam and his family. “His father was not present at the hospital nor did he attend the funeral,” said the official.
“We have not found any clue so far that suggests that the slain journalist was killed for his journalistic work,” the official added.
Taking note of the incident, KP Chief Minister Mehmood khan condemned that journalist’s killing and directed the police to arrest the perpetrators at the earliest.
With over 70 journalists killed over the last two decades, Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous places for journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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, according to Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ (CPNE) Media Freedom Report 2020.
