His Excellency Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minster of Pakistan
Office of the Prime Minister
Islamabad
Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Vienna, 6 June 1995

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 85 countries, strongly condemns the stabbing of a journalist working for an Urdu-language newspaper in Multan.

We are informed that Mr. Aslam Gauhar, a staffer of the daily Khabrain, was stabbed by unidentified assailants on 29 May 1995. Mr. Gauhar, who was admitted to a local hospital in critical condition, said that he had received threatening telephone calls after writing a report that was critical of a federal minister.

We understand that journalists, opposition politicians and other concerned individuals took to the streets in protest on 4 June, linking the attackers to the police chief in Multan and demanding his immediate suspension.

IPI strongly urges that you authorize an immediate investigation into the incident and that those responsible are brought to justice. We further urge that all possible steps are taken to protect the safety of journalists working in Pakistan.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director