The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the murder of a journalist
in Khuzdar and abduction of another in the North Waziristan tribal
region and called upon the authorities to take meaningful measures to
effectively address threats to journalists’ safety and end impunity for
violence against them.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Commission said: “HRCP is
alarmed at the murder of journalist Munir Shakir in Khuzdar, the fourth
killing of a journalist in the district in the last 12 months. He was
shot dead by two armed men riding a motorcycle. Equally disturbing is
the abduction of another journalist, Rehmatullah Darpakhel, from
Miranshah in North Waziristan on August 11. No one has claimed
responsibility for either incident and the motives of the culprits also
remain unclear.
It is a matter of grave concern that despite escalating violence
against journalists, including several murders, the government has
failed to take effective measures to safeguard their lives. There is a
growing sense of insecurity among media persons who increasingly
interpret each attack on journalists as a warning to others to
‘behave’. Over two dozen journalists from North Waziristan, who are
members of the Tribal Union of Journalists, are so fearful for their
lives that they are reported to be considering quitting the profession.
HRCP believes that the sharp rise in killings and other forms of
violence against journalists is linked directly to the fact that in
almost all cases in the last few years where journalists have been
killed or attacked on account of their work the culprits remain
unidentified and unpunished.
HRCP urges the authorities to investigate Munir Shakir’s killing to
identify and prosecute his killers, and take immediate steps to ensure
the safe recovery of Rehmatullah. The government must do all it can to
make certain that Rehmatullah’s abduction does not end in an
unfortunate manner as did Hayatullah Khan’s, another journalist from
North Waziristan who was abducted in December 2005 and whose
bulled-riddled body was found six months later. It is disconcerting
that findings of a probe into Hayatullah’s death by a judge of the high
court are yet to be made public.
HRCP calls upon the government to respond through effective action
and not mere words in the next few days, sending a strong message to
the mischief makers that it would no longer stand by as a mere
spectator as journalists are killed and snatched.” SANA
