PRESS FREEDOM: Journalist gunned down in Quetta

Pakistan's reputation as being an unpleasant place for journalists was bolstered after Chisti Mujahid, a reporter and photographer for the Urdu weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan (where his column "Quetta ki Diary" appeared regularly), was shot dead while getting into his car to go to work. A Pakistani newspaper said that Mujahid was a columnist for the Daily Jang and also an eye doctor.

The Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility and according to Dawn, Pakistan's leading newspaper, a BLA spokesperson called Quetta Press Club to inform that Mujahid was killed because he was working against the Baloch cause.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Mujahid had a "strongly worded" headline for an article after the killing of a BLA leader Mir Balach Marri last November. He is the first journalist to be killed in Pakistan this year after six were murdered last year.

From the RSF press release: (Read full press release below)

Reporters Without Borders today strongly condemned the murder of Chishti Mujahid, photographer and reporter for the Urdu-language weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan, in Quetta, capital of the the southwestern province of Balochistan on 9 February, and called on local officials to punish those responsible.

"The killing of this respected journalist in a region bloodied by fighting between the army and separatists is deplorable," it said. "The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)'s claim of responsibility raises fears of a more aggressive attitude towards the media by separatist groups."

Of course, this comes a month after reporter Nicolas Schmidle was kicked out of Pakistan for his piece on next generation of Taliban. With the government restricting freedom of press and militant groups targeting journalists, reporters might start finding it increasingly hard to write freely and fairly in/from Pakistan.

Is Pakistan becoming increasingly unsafe for journalists? Please post your comments below.

Earlier on SAJAForum:

• Pakistan Deports Reporter Nicolas Schmidle
• CPJ on Attacks on Press in 2007 in South Asia
• Afghani Journalist Faces Death Sentence for Blasphemy
• Nepali Journalist's Hand Cut Off
• Two Nepalese Dailies Disrupted by Maoists
• Cartoonist Jailed Over Mohammad Cartoons
  
• 25 Journalists Killed in South Asia During 2007

Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières
Press release

11 February 2008

PAKISTAN
JOURNALIST MURDERED IN BALOCHISTAN

Reporters Without Borders today strongly condemned the murder of Chishti Mujahid, photographer and reporter for the Urdu-language weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan, in Quetta, capital of the the southwestern province of Balochistan on 9 February, and called on local officials to punish those responsible.

"The killing of this respected journalist in a region bloodied by fighting between the army and separatists is deplorable," it said.  "The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)'s claim of responsibility raises fears of a more aggressive attitude towards the media by separatist groups."

Mujahid was shot in the head and neck as he was getting into his car with his wife to go to work. The gunman fled with his accomplice and police took an hour and a half to get to the scene.
Mujahid had written "Quetta Ki Diary" in the weekly for the past few years and was also an eye doctor.  The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) also condemned the murder, noting that he was the first journalist killed this year after six were murdered last year.

The BLA immediately claimed responsibility, saying it was in revenge for an article about the army killing last 21 November of one of its leaders, Mir Balach Marri.  The article did not criticise him but the headline on it was strongly worded.

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PAKISTAN
UN JOURNALISTE ASSASSINÉ AU BALOUTCHISTAN

Reporters sans frontières est indignée par l'assassinat de Chishti Mujahid, médecin, photographe et correspondant de l'hebdomadaire ourdophone Akhbar-e-Jehan, le 9 février 2008, à Quetta, capitale de la province du Baloutchistan (Sud-Ouest). L'Armée de libération du Baloutchistan (BLA) a revendiqué cette attaque, pour le punir d'un article sur la mort de leur chef en 2007.
"L'assassinat de ce journaliste pakistanais respecté survient dans une région ensanglantée par un conflit entre un mouvement séparatiste et les forces gouvernementales. La revendication de ce crime odieux par l'Armée de libération du Baloutchistan fait craindre une radicalisation des mouvements séparatistes envers la presse. Nous demandons aux autorités d'arrêter les coupables", a déclaré Reporters sans frontières.

Dans la matinée du 9 février 2008, un individu non identifié a tué Chishti Mujahid alors qu'il montait dans sa voiture avec sa femme pour se rendre à son travail, à Quetta. Le journaliste, âgé d'une cinquantaine d'années, est mort après avoir reçu deux balles, une à la tempe et l'autre dans le cou. Il a succombé à ses blessures avant son transfert à l'hôpital. L'assaillant est parvenu à s'enfuir grâce à la présence d'un complice. La police est arrivée sur le lieu du crime une heure et demie après l'incident.

Chishti Mujahid s'occupait depuis plusieurs années de la rubrique "Quetta Ki Diary" dans Akhbar-e-Jehan, un hebdomadaire d'informations, publié à Karachi (Sud). Il était également médecin ophtalmologiste.

"Nous condamnons fermement ce nouvel assassinat d'un journaliste, le premier en 2008, après six autres tués l'année dernière", a affirmé la Pakistan Federal Union of Journalistes (PFUJ).

L'Armée de libération du Baloutchistan (BLA) a revendiqué l'assassinat de Chishti Mujahid le jour même, selon un journaliste de Quetta contacté par Reporters sans frontières. L'attaque ferait suite à la publication d'un article sur l'assassinat d'un dirigeant de l'organisation indépendantiste, Mir Balach Marri, par les forces pakistanaises, le 21 novembre 2007. L'article ne contenait pas de critiques, mais le titre était assez agressif.

--
Vincent Brossel
Asia - Pacific Desk
Reporters Sans Frontières
47 rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
33 1 44 83 84 70
33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax)
asia@rsf.org
www.rsf.org