Three Attacks on Journalists in Pakistan in Past 24 Hours

The Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday that another journalist had been killed in Pakistan. That makes the second death and third attack in the last 24 hours.

"With poor investigations and little follow up, attacks on journalists continue to go unexplained and unprosecuted," Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator said. "Journalists have a right to expect better protection from Pakistan's government. The recent spate of attacks underscores not only the danger that journalists face, but also the authorities' inability to follow through on promises to protect them."

According to CPJ, which got its information from reports and journalists in-country, former Geo News business reporter Aftab Alam was killed in Karachi by two gunmen. That shooting followed the death of a Geo News technician, who was killed in Karachi when gunmen fired on a broadcast van.

According to various reports, Abdul Azam, a journalist for state-run broadcaster Pakistan Television, was still hospitalized after being shot three times in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, though CPJ said it was not yet clear if his shooting was related to his work as a journalist.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.