A journalist was killed in Pakistan’s province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa last week, the ninth so far this year in the South Asian country. Pakistan is the second deadliest country for journalists so far this year, after Syria, where 12 journalists were killed since January, according to IPI’s Death Watch.

Ayub Khan Khattak, a reporter for a local private TV channel as well as the local newspaper Karak Times, was shot on Oct. 11 by two gunmen outside of his house and died on the spot, according to the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF),.

The journalist’s son, Shamsur Rehman, who was with his father when he was killed, reportedly registered a criminal complaint against two local residents, stating that the accused were angered by articles written by his father, which exposed their illegal activities, Pakistan’s The News International reported.

According to PPF, Malick Arshad, the president of the Khyber Union of Journalists (KUJ), also linked the murder to Khattak’s coverage of illegal activities carried out by the local drug mafia.

“Pakistani journalists have fallen victim to bomb explosions while covering public events or terrorist attacks, as well as targeted killings as a consequence of their coverage of criminal activities. The authorities’ complete failure to take steps to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice is the root cause of the growing violence against journalists in Pakistan,” IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi. “Pakistan has accepted to be a pilot country in the implementation of the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists, and global as well as local state and non-state actors are joining forces seeking to end impunity and ensure that journalists can carry out their profession safely. IPI urges the Pakistani government to take this opportunity very seriously and make important steps toward ending violence against the press.”

Five out of the nine journalists killed so far this year in Pakistan were victims of targeted killings by gunmen. The remaining four journalists were killed by bomb explosions.

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