UNESCO head condemns journalist’s death

The chief of the United Nations agency that defends press freedom has condemned the recent murder of a Pakistani journalist, calling it an attack on democracy.

According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Abdul Hameed Hayatan, 25, became the 11th Pakistani journalist to die this year when he was found dead in a canal near Turbat in western Pakistan’s Balochistan province last week, along with his friend, Hamid Ismail.

“An act of violence on a journalist is not only a crime against the individual victim. It also represents an attack on freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right and a cornerstone of democratic society,” said UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Director-General Irina Bokova.

“I call on the authorities in Pakistan to spare no effort in investigating this murder and bringing the culprits to justice.”

Hameed, known also as Lala Hameed Baloch, worked mainly for the Urdu-language daily ‘Intikhab’. He was found dead on November 18 with gunshot wounds after disappearing from his hometown of Gwadar on October 25.

According to International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) statistics, four of the 11 journalists killed in Pakistan this year were killed in the Balochistan province.