The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based independent watchdog body, joined other Press organizations in condemning Monday’s terrorist attack at the civil hospital in Quetta that killed at least 70 people, including two journalists who died in the line of duty.
Mehmood Khan, a cameraman for Dawn News, and Aaj TV cameraman Shehzad Ahmed were at the hospital reporting on a gathering of mourners grieving the murder of Bilal Kasi, president of the Baluchistan Bar Association when a massive bomb went off. Shehzad died at the scene of the blast, while Mehmood breathed his last in a hospital soon after the deadly bombing.
Across Pakistan, journalist bodies condemned the killing of the two cameramen and civil society organizations expressed solidarity with journalists.
“This deadly attack underlines the extreme dangers journalists face working in Parkistan,” CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator Steven Butler said in a statement issued in New York. “The deaths of Shehzad Ahmed and Mehmood Khan testify to the bravery and dedication of Pakistan’s press corp.”
According to CPJ Monday’s deaths bring to at least 60 the number of journalists killed in Pakistan since 1992, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
