19 November 2007

Widow of Slain Pakistani Journalist Murdered in Targeted Attack

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is shocked and outraged by the targeted bomb attack on Mahrun Nisa at her home in Mir Ali, a militant stronghold in the border region of North Waziristan.

Reports from the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an affiliate of the IFJ, said Nisa was killed in the early hours of the morning on 17 November by a bomb detonated outside her bedroom window. Since losing both her husband and one son to vicious attacks, Nisa has become an advocate for journalists’ safety and media freedom in Pakistan.

“It is distressing and unjustifiable when attacks on press freedom take the lives of journalists and their families,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

Nisa’s husband, Hayatullah Khan, disappeared in December 2005 just days after he photographed shrapnel from a US Hellfire missile aimed at a wanted al-Qaida figure, Hamza Rabia. Contradicting a claim by the Pakistan Government that Rabia died in an accidental explosion, the photograph was widely published and Khan’s body was found seven months later riddled with bullets.

These tragic incidents are just some examples of how conditions for journalists’ safety in Pakistan are rapidly deteriorating.

Several journalists have been directly affected by attacks since November 13. Abdul Sattar Kakar of ARY TV and Jamal Tharkai from the newspaper Awam were arrested in Quetta on November 14 at a protest against media censorship imposed under emergency rule since 3 November. Another television correspondent for Aaj TV Nadem Khattak was arrested for the second time this month while covering a demonstration in the north-western district of Lakki Marwat.

Despite these attacks, the peaceful protest by hundreds of journalists from print and electronic media in front of a banned television station in Islamabad as a public display of solidarity with the TV channel on Sunday marked the 10th day of action.

The IFJ condemns the murder of Mahrun Nisa and demands local authorities investigate the brutal attack and make those responsible accountable for this crime. As the media crisis continues, the IFJ supports its affiliate the PFUJ and all journalists involved in the protests for standing up for their professional rights and demanding the Government restore diversity of the media by lifting the ban on all private TV channels and FM radios.

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific +61 2 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in more than 120 countries