Tribal journalist murdered by a bomb blast
Nasrullah Khan Afridi, 38, correspondent of state-run Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), English Daily “Statesman” and Urdu Daily “Mashriq” in Khyber tribal agency, was killed when an explosive device ripped through his vehicle on the night May 10, 2011 in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan.
The explosion took place when Afridi came out of the office of Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), where he was a regular visitor and entered his car. The device exploded leaving behind a completely gutted vehicle and a crater at the road. The body of the deceased was burnt beyond recognition. The blast also damaged few vehicles and smashed windowpanes of the nearby buildings. No one has claimed responsibility for the killing.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, minister of information of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said this was a case of targeted blast and that militants have been killing journalists. He said that their war against militancy would continue and it was their resolve to eliminate militants as they were killing innocent citizens.
Afridi had shifted from Khyber Agency to Hayatabad town in Peshawar along with his family few years ago after receiving threats by a leader of Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), a Bara-based militant organisation. On May 26, 2007 unidentified persons lobbed two hand grenades at Afridi’s house damaging the boundary wall and veranda. No one was injured in that attack.
TUJ President Safdar Hayat told PPF that militant organizations did not like Afridi for his investigative reporting on militants in Pakistan’s Tribal region. Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) President Arshad Aziz Malik told PPF that Afridi was constantly threatened by militant organizations including Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) and Ansarul Islam (AI).
Afridi was in the profession of journalism for last ten years and was President of Bara Press Club. He left three sons, three daughters and a widow. A son and a daughter are deaf and dumb and another boy lives with mental retardation.
In a joint statement KhUJ President Malik and General Secretary Yousaf Ali, Peshawar Press Club President Saiful Islam Saifi and General Secretary Shahid Hameed strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the journalist. They said that the government has failed to protect the lives of journalists across the country despite pressing demands by the representative bodies of the media people.
A large number of journalists from print and electronic media staged a protest demonstration after the funeral prayer of journalist and urged authorities to punish the culprits.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Federal Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan have strongly condemned the death of Afridi. Prime Minister Gilani ordered the authorities for an inquiry into the incident.
Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
Date:5/11/2011
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