Latest murder underlines dangers faced by journalists: UN

A senior United Nations official has called on Pakistani authorities to probe the murder of a journalist gunned down in the south-western province of Balochistan this week, the fourth media professional to be killed in the country in less than two weeks.

Muhammad Khan Sasoli, 36, worked as a correspondent for Royal TV and the INP news agency in Khuzdar and was the president of the town’s press club. He was shot four times by two men on a motorcycle outside his home and died instantly on December 14.

Irina Bokova, the director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), condemned the murder, which follows the killing of three Pakistani journalists in two separate incidents on December 6.

“Acts of violence against journalists represent attacks on freedom of expression. Only by protecting this fundamental right can we have democratic societies,” she said in a press release.

“I call upon the authorities to do their utmost to investigate this crime and arrest the perpetrators, in order to put a stop to violence against journalists in Pakistan. Three other journalists died this month in Pakistan besides Sasoli, a fact that underlines the extreme dangers faced by media professionals in the country.”

Altaf Chandio was reportedly shot dead outside his home in Sindh province on December 6, while Abdul Wahab and Pervez Khan were killed in a suicide bombing in the north-west tribal area on the same day.