NEW YORK: Pakistan authorities must immediately investigate the attacks against journalists Haider Mastoi, Khan Muhammad Pitafi, and Chaudhry Ikhlaq, hold those responsible to account, and take steps to end the intensifying wave of violence against journalists in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Tuesday.
On May 29, an unknown number of unidentified gunmen on three motorbikes stopped Mastoi, a reporter for Sindh News TV and Times News media outlets, and shot him four times while he was on his way home in Rohri town, located in Sukkur District, according to press freedom non-profit the Pakistan Press Foundation and the independent daily Dawn. The armed men also beat Pitafi, a cameraman accompanying Mastoi during the attack, according to the Pakistan Press Foundation.
On May 30, armed men on two motorbikes shot Ikhlaq while he was returning to his native town Bewal from Gujar Khan city in Punjab province, according to media reports. The independent daily newspaper Nation reported that Ikhlaq is a correspondent for the Daily Express and a member of the Bewal Khan Press Club.
“Pakistani authorities must swiftly investigate the attacks on journalists Haider Mastoi, Chaudhry Ikhlaq, and Khan Muhammad Pitafi, and hold the perpetrators to account,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator.
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