Balochistan: Pakistani TV journalist killed in bomb attack in Hub town

Pakistan-based television journalist Shahid Zehri, 35, was killed on Sunday night, in the Hub town of Balochistan province, when a grenade exploded near the car he was travelling in, The Dawn reported.

Zehri, who was associated with TV news channel Metro 1 News, suffered critical injuries and was first taken to Hub Civil Hospital. He was later shifted to a hospital in Karachi, where he was declared dead.

Citing CCTV footage of the attack, The Dawn reported that an explosion took place on the road near Zehri’s moving car as soon as it made a U-turn. Eidgah Station House Officer Nadeem Haider was quoted as saying that the attack was reportedly carried out using a homemade grenade.

The banned outfit Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

This however, is not a one-off incident. The Media Freedom Report 2020 released in February this year by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ (CPNE) had revealed that at least 10 journalists were murdered in Pakistan last year alone. The report stated that several other journalists were threatened, kidnapped, tortured and arrested on trumped-up charges and also discharged from their professional duties.