On January 14, unidentified attackers opened fire on the car of Suno News channel's Karachi Station Chief Shoaib Burney while the journalist was attempting to park in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi. In a video statement, the journalist said that two armed men on a motorbike followed his car and fired at him when he was driving a car on Rashid Minhas Road. “The bullet smashed the right window of the car and hit my hand,” he added.

Shoaib Burney was swiftly taken to the nearby Patel Hospital for medical treatment, where he was successfully treated. On January 16, Burney registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the unknown attackers, under attempted murder and common intention sections of Pakistan’s penal code.

The complainant told police that he had dropped off his family members at a wedding hall in the same area and was attempting to park his car when he was fired upon. Police investigations are ongoing, however the motivation for the attack and figures identified in CCTV footage are currently unknown.

The attack has been condemned by the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), Sunu News, as well as other media bodies across both Sindh province and Pakistan. The KUJ condemned the attack on the journalists, calling on senior State officials to increase security measures for citizens in Karachi.

The PFUJ said: “The PFUJ strongly condemn this attack on a journalist. Secretary General PFUJ Rana Muhammad Azeem has demanded the concerned police officials and government of Sindh arrest the culprits so that such incidents could be stopped.”

The IFJ said: “The attack on Shoaib Burney could have proved deadly for yet another journalist. The IFJ urges Pakistani authorities to protect journalists in the country and to uphold their international obligations under the Pakistani Constitution regarding media and press freedom.”