On Oct. 23, unknown assailants gunned down Pakistani journalist Khalid Musa Mengal, a reporter with the daily newspaper Ummat in Turbat, Balochistan province, the Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) reported. Condemning the murder as a „barbaric act“, RMNP noted that most attacks against journalists are never investigated and go unpunished.
Balochistan is the most dangerous region for journalists in Pakistan. At a demonstration organised by the Karachi Union of Journalists on Oct. 24 in front of the Karachi Press Club, speakers denounced the failure of federal and provincial governments, in particular in Balochistan, to ensure journalists’ ability to work safely, the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) reported.
“We join our colleagues in Pakistan in calling on the government of Pakistan for greater efforts in ensuring that journalists can work safety and that perpetrators of attacks against journalists are brought to justice,” said IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi. “We remind the Pakistani government that a resolution recently passed by the UN Human Rights Council highlights the clear responsibility of the State in promoting a safe environment for journalists.”
According to the IPI Death Watch, at least six journalists were killed in Pakistan this year, four of them in Balochistan province.