With the recent brutal killings of two Pakistani journalists, the head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today expressed condemnation of the crime.
The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Irina Bokova also expressed alarm over the continued deteriorating security of journalists in the country.
Ms. Bokova says the brutal murders of Tariq Kamal and Murtaza Razvi stand unequivocally condemned.
“Every attempt must be made to bring their killers to justice.” -Ms. Bokova
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
Reports say the latest killings came less than one month apart.
Ms. Bokova highlighted that once again the dangerous conditions in which journalists in Pakistan work.
The murders is cause for alarm and requires urgent action, in the name of press freedom and the rights of citizens to be informed, she added.
Tariq Kamal was a reporter with a Sindhi language daily published in Karachi. Reports say he was missing on 7 May, along with a friend, and their bodies were found two days later.
Reports say Mr. Kamal had left Karachi for another town in the province of Sindh to follow up what he described as an ‘exclusive’ news story.
The other journalist named Murtaza Razvi was found strangled and tortured in a Karachi apartment on 19th of April.
Mr. Razvi was a prominent columnist and political analyst with the national English language daily Dawn.
Reports say 25 journalists and media workers, including Tariq Kamal and Murtaza Razvi, have been killed in Pakistan since 2002.
Pakistan has been cited by various journalist groups as one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous, places for media professionals.
A report issued in June 2011 by Pakistan’s human rights commission revealed 143 cases of disappearances in Balochistan, including journalists, as of May 2011. The same report listed 140 missing persons who were found dead in Balochistan between July 2010 and May 2011.