The International Federation of Journalists

(IFJ), and its affiliate the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), is

alarmed and saddened by the murder of senior journalist Mukaram Khan Atif on January

17. 

According to the Khyber

Union of Journalists (KhUJ) General Secretary Yousuf Ali, Khan Atif was

offering evening prayers at a mosque near his home in Shabqadar

Town, Charsadda, in Pakistan’s central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when two gunmen opened

fire, shooting him in the head and chest. He was taken to a local hospital

where he died later that evening.

Khan Atif, a journalist

for 15 years, was working as a correspondent for Dewa Radio - a Pashto language

radio channel of the Voice of America and a reporter for Dunya TV.

According to an AFP

report, militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility

for the killing.

Tribal Union of

Journalists (TUJ) President Safdar Dawar has condemned the murder and claims

that Mukaram Khan Atif had been receiving threats since locating to

Charsadda.  He added that this is the

first time that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed

responsibility for such an attack. The KhUJ, Peshawar Press Club and TUJ have

called a meeting to devise a strategy on how to deal with threats to

journalists.

“This is a terrible

tragedy, both for Khan Atif’s family and for the journalist community in Pakistan”, IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“It is time for Pakistan’s

media houses and government to end the impunity, respond to attacks and threats

made against journalists and protect media workers from increasing risks.” 

Last year, as many as ten

journalists were killed and many more injured, making Pakistan the most

dangerous country for journalists for the second year in a row.

For further

information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific

on +612 9333 0950

The IFJ

represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

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IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific

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