The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is shocked and saddened to learn of the
gruesome killing of journalist Faiz Mohammad Khan Sasoli in Pakistan’s
Balochistan province yesterday.
Faiz, a former president of the Khuzdar Press Club and correspondent
for Aaj Kal and Independent News of Pakistan, was killed instantly when
unidentified assailants opened fire on his car as he was driving near Faisal Hotel in Khuzdar District,
according to the Pakistan Federal Union of
Journalists, an IFJ affiliate. Faiz’s car hit a nearby shop, where two people were
injured.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the killing,
the PFUJ reported that Faiz had survived two attacks in the past 12 months and
had received threats from the militant Baloch Musallah Difah Tanzeem (BMDT).
In April 2009, Haji Wasi Ahmed, a correspondent for Azadi and Balochistan Express, was also killed in Khuzdar while conducting
his work.
In 2008, the Baloch Liberation
Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the murder of Chishti Mujahid, who worked
for the weekly Akhbar-e-Jahan.
Faiz, 27, had worked in journalism for a decade and was
the main breadwinner in his family of four brothers, two sisters
and his ageing parents. His marriage was to be solemnised next month.
“The IFJ is shocked and saddened by
this latest murder, which again shows that lawlessness in
Balochistan is putting local media personnel at extreme danger as they exercise
their duty to report,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan
White said.
“The IFJ joins the PFUJ in demanding an inquiry by a judge of the
Balochistan High Court to bring the perpetrators of this violent crime to
justice, and for Pakistan’s
federal and provincial governments to provide financial compensation and
support to Faiz’s family.”
In a separate incident in Lahore, Farrukh Asif, a cameraman for Express
News, was brutally assaulted by police, the PFUJ reported.
Asif was filming police assaulting
people at Liberty Market, when he was attacked by police. On the orders of Gulberg
Station House Officer Ihsan Butt, more than a dozen police overpowered Asif and
assaulted him publicly, snatched his camera and destroyed the footage,
according to the PFUJ.
Media reports said Asif was taken
by police to the Gulberg Station House where he was brutally assaulted before being
rescued by colleagues. He suffered fractures to his arms and bruising.
“The IFJ demands that all police
personnel involved in the attack on Asif be immediately arrested and prosecuted
in accordance with the law,” White said
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919