Journalist Abdul Haq Baloch
Quetta: The prominent TV channel ARY One World reporter in the hot-blooded area of Balochistan has been shot dead, in the latest in a series of killings of Baloch journalists.
Abdul Haq Baloch, 37, was gunned down on his way from Khuzdar Press Club to his home on Sunday evening as he stepped out of his office after closing getting work off.
The murder will have an alarming effect on press freedom in Baluchistan as 21 journalists have already been killed in three years. It is the latest killing to shake the freedom of press, already racked by death squad operating under the supervision of spy agencies and heavy-handed tactics by Para military forces.
Baloch’s family said he had no enmity with anyone. His brother said the reporter had not received any threat.
Doctors said Baloch was sprayed with bullets by automatic weapons.
The mysterious murder of yet another journalist has again raised concerns among reporters in restive Southwestern province Baluchistan.
No group claimed responsibility for the killing.
Police officials said they were trying to ascertain the motive for the murder. Earlier on May 18, Abdul Razzaq Gul, a journalist working for the Express news, was shot dead by unknown men at Turbat city in southwest Pakistan, while Khan Mohammad Marri, a senior journalist in Daily Tawar, was found murdered in a road in Quetta on May 27.
A recent UNESCO report spoke of a dramatic increase in the number of media persons killed in Pakistan.
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