One Journalist Killed, Two Injured in Attack on Election Rally

Media Release: Pakistan                                                                                         

April 19, 2012


The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expresses its deep concern at the escalating violence faced by journalists in Pakistan, as the country goes into a phase of intense political campaigning prior to general elections scheduled for 11 May.

 

Information received from the IFJ’s affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) indicates that a journalist was killed and two others seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack on a political rally in the city of Peshawar, provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

 

Among the estimated fifteen dead in the attack, was Tariq Aslam, news editor of the daily Pakistan.Azhar Ali Shah of the same newspaper and Ehtesham Khan, a reporter for Express TV, were seriously injured, though they are now reported to be out of danger.

 

The IFJ appeals to media managements in Pakistan to ensure that all staff deployed in election coverage, especially in the violence prone regions, are adequately briefed on emergency safety drills and procedures.

 

The IFJ once again underlines that media managements should respond constructively to the PFUJ’s longstanding demand for compensation where journalists are killed or injured on the job.

 

The shameful situation of news gathering equipment being insured while journalists have no such cover, cannot continue much longer.

 

 

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

 

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