Pakistan: Senior journalist shot dead in Sukkur of Sindh Province
Sukkur: A day before Pakistan's 76th Independence Day, Jan Mohammad Mahar, a top journalist working for a private Sindhi daily and TV station, was fatally shot on late Sunday night outside St. Saviour School on Queens Road, according to Dawn.
According to the area police, the assailants shot several fires at Mahar, who was travelling in his car.
According to the police, the journalist was shot multiple times in the head and close to his eyes. They also stated that he was transferred to a private hospital in an extremely bad condition. While the surgery was taking place, he passed away from his injuries, according to hospital sources.
A motive behind the attack could not be ascertained immediately but police believed that an old enmity might have led to the murder, Dawn reported.
World Sindhi Congress condemned the murder of journalist Jan Mohammed Mahar.
"WSC strongly condemn the brutal and cowardly murder of journalist Jan Mohammad Mahar in Sukkur, #Sindh, #Pakistan. This tragic incident not only reflects a grave violation of freedom of the press but also serves as a stark reminder of the dangers journalists face in their pursuit of truth and information, World Sindhi Congress wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The murder of Jan Mohammad Mahar... is a blow to the principles of free speech and transparency that are essential for the functioning of a just society," WSC wrote further.
"It is deeply concerning that #Pakistan has consistently been ranked as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. The repeated acts of violence and intimidation against members of the press have created an environment of fear and censorship, preventing the dissemination of information that is essential for a well-informed public," the WSC wrote mentioning about the acts of violence against minorities in Pakistan.
WSC also called upon the authorities in Pakistan to take immediate and effective actions to apprehend the culprits responsible for this heinous crime.
"It is imperative that a thorough and transparent investigation be conducted to bring the perpetrators to justice," WSC said.
Only by ensuring that those responsible are held accountable can we send a strong message that violence against journalists will not be tolerated.
The police have started a hunt for the attackers.
A large number of media personnel gathered at the hospital soon after learning about the incident. They and the entire local journalist community were shocked to know about the demise of Mahar, Dawn reported.
This is only the latest in a long line of atrocities committed against the people of Sindh in Pakistan. In the recent past, the minority community of Sukkur in Pakistan's Sindh have faced multiple such attacks.
Earlier this year, in July, hundreds of armed men attacked a village nearby Sukkur in Sindh, kidnapped two women and a child, and killed at least two men, Dawn reported.
The Express Tribune saw the assailants, who were apparently carrying modern weaponry, riding motorcycles past the Sangi police station and heading into the village of Nirch in broad daylight.
The attackers also abducted two women and a young girl, leaving at least three other people injured, The Express Tribune reported.
Before that, in June, miscreants forcibly entered the premises of Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Sukkur city of Pakistan's Sindh province, abusing the priests and forcibly asking them to stop kirtan or religious devotional songs.
Many local Sikhs and Hindus, who were present at the historical Gurdwara, alleged that the miscreants also desecrated the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.
The miscreants, who were handed over to the police, were released without proper investigation and interrogation, it was alleged.
