CrisisBalochistan

Crisis Balochistan

Senior Journalist Killed in Khuzdar

Click here for partial list of missing persons, maintained by Intl Voice of Baloch Missing Persons
Sign Asian Human Rights Petition, Oct 29, 2010 Two bodies found and eight persons disappeared
At end of article find partial list of Baloch persons killed in 2010

Senior Journalist Killed in Khuzdar

Baloch Hal News | December 14, 2010:

KHUZDAR: The President of Khuzdar Press Club and a senior journalist Mohammad Khan Sasoli has been killed, police confirmed.

Officials said unidentified persons opened fire on Mohammad Khan Sasoli on his way back home.

No group has accepted responsibility for the killing yet.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the killing of Mohammad Khan Sasoli, President of Khuzdar Press Club in Baluchistan and Correspondent of DawnNews TV here on Tuesday night by unknown assailants and demanded of the government to ensure arrest of perpetuators.

According to the reports reaching the PFUJ Secretariat, Mohammad Khan Sasoli (36) after doing his routine professional assignments left Khuzdar Press Club for his home situated in Labour Colony on his vehicle at 7.30pm. When he reached in front of his house two unknown motorcyclists wearing masks opened indiscriminate fire on him moment he come out of his vehicle. He received four bullet wounds in his head, chest and died on the spot. The assailants later fled from the scene.

He was married and leaves behind a son, a widow, old father, mother and three brothers and sister to mourn his death. He was in the profession for the last 15 years and worked for Daily “Zamana, Royal TV, news agency INP while presently he was working for DAWNNEWS TV. He belongs to a poor family and was occasionally paid by the Dawn News.

The journalists of Khuzdar claimed that almost all members of the Khuzdar Press Club were threatened by various pressure groups and Balochistan National Liberation Moment. About eights months ago President of the Khuzdar Press Club Faiz Din was also killed but his killers are still at large.

Likewise, Lala Hameed Baloch, Correspondent of urdu-language Daily Intikhab of Gwadar was found dead on Nov 18 with gunshot wounds. His killers are too not arrested so far.

This is fourth death of a media person in Pakistan during the last 10 days and 15th during the current year which is highest in the entire world.

Condemning the killing of Mohammad Khan Sasoli, the PFUJ Secretary General, Shamsul Islam Naz termed it a direct attack on democracy and freedom of press. Shamsul Islam Naz added that this incident has once again proved that the media persons are forced to work in hostile environments and they are not being provided any protection both from the government and media houses.

The PFUJ said that “an act of violence on a media practitioner is not only a crime against the individual victim, but it also represents an attack on freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right and a cornerstone of democratic society”.

The PFUJ asked the Balochistan government to spare no effort in investigating this murder and bringing the culprits to justice.

The PFUJ demanded that aggrieved families be also compensated forthwith and it urged the world media organisations to send fact finding missions to Pakistan to assess the miserable conditions of media persons and their killing owing to negligence of media owners and failure of the government to protect the life of media persons.