UN official urges Pakistan to probe journalist Sasoli's murder

UN official urges Pakistan to probe journalist Sasoli's murder

UN official urges Pakistan to probe journalist Sasoli's murder

17-Dec-2010

UNITED NATIONS A senior UN official has called on Pakistani authorities to probe the murder of a journalist gunned down in 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 Khuzdhar 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 14 December. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), condemned the murder, which follows the killing of three Pakistani journalists in two separate incidents on 6 December."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 statement. "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 Mr. Sasoli, a fact that underlines the extreme dangers faced by media professionals in the country," Ms. Bokova said. Altaf Chandio was reportedly shot dead outside his home in Sindh Province on 6 December, while Abdul Wahab and Pervez Khan were killed in a suicide bombing in the north-west tribal area on the same day.-UNS