PESHAWAR: Unidentified assailants on Tuesday shot dead a senior journalist, Khalil Jibran, in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said, in the latest incident of violence in the restive region during the three-day Eid Al-Adha holiday.
The northwestern Pakistani province, which borders Afghanistan, has been the scene of a number of attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccination teams in recent weeks.
Jibran, a former president of the Landi Kotal Press club in KP’s Khyber tribal district, was en route to his home in the district headquarters of Landi Kotal, when he came under attack by the suspects.
“He [Jibran] was coming back from his friend’s hujra [guest room] after dinner when he was killed by unknown assailants,” Saleem Abbas Kulachi, Khyber district police chief, told Arab News
“Police found bullet shells of M4 and AK-47 [rifles] at the scene,” he added.
The development came days after the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced a three-day ceasefire with the government in Islamabad from June 17 till June 19 on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned Jibran’s killing and extended his heartfelt sympathies to the deceased’s family, according to his office.
“Police have been asked to take necessary action for immediate arrest of the suspects,” it said.
Journalist bodies have announced a protest against Jibran’s killing across all tribal districts of the province on Thursday.
Separately, three bodies were found in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan tribal district, while a religious party leader, who was injured in a shooting in the South Waziristan district last week, succumbed to his wounds on Tuesday, according to officials. No group claimed responsibility for the killings.
Pakistan has witnessed a spike in militant violence in its two western provinces, KP and Balochistan, since the TTP called off its fragile truce with the government in November 2022.
Islamabad has blamed the surge in violence on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue of Islamabad.
Senior journalist shot dead in northwest Pakistan over Eid holiday
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Senior journalist shot dead in northwest Pakistan over Eid holiday
- Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been the scene of a number of attacks on police, security forces in recent weeks
- Islamabad has blamed the surge in violence on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan, Kabul denies the allegation
Pakistan seeks UK action over ‘incitement to violence’ against top military commander
- Move follows a video that purportedly showed a PTI supporter in Bradford referencing violence against the army chief
- Pakistan’s deputy interior minister says the government has written to the UK, saying the content breaches British law
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said on Friday the government has written a letter to the United Kingdom to express concern over social media content circulating from British territory, which he said amounts to incitement to violence against the Pakistani state.
Speaking to a local news channel, Chaudhry said the government raised the issue after a video clip on social media purportedly showed a protester of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party criticizing Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and referring to violence against him.
“This is not a political matter, nor is it a question of freedom of expression,” the minister said while speaking to Geo TV. “This is clearly a violation of international law and of Britain’s own laws, including the British Terrorism Act 2006.”
He said the material went beyond political dissent and amounted to incitement to violence, adding that Pakistan had conveyed to British authorities that states are responsible for ensuring that individuals residing on their territory — whether citizens, asylum seekers or others — do not incite rebellion or violence against another sovereign country.
“What is very dangerous is that a very specific act — a car bombing — has been referenced,” he continued. “It has not been generalized.”
A social media post by a Britain-based journalist claimed that the video was recorded during a protest outside Pakistan’s consulate in Bradford, though neither the authenticity of the footage nor the identity of the individual could be independently verified.
Chaudhry said Pakistan’s complaint to the UK was lodged under international law, British law and United Nations principles governing relations between states, stressing that the issue was one of incitement rather than protected speech.
“This is not about freedom of expression. This is about incitement and terrorism, which is against Britain’s own laws,” he said, adding that Islamabad expects British authorities to take action.
Pakistani officials have also previously voiced concerns over social media activity by PTI supporters abroad that they say fuels unrest and hostility toward state institutions.
British authorities have not publicly responded to the letter or Chaudhry’s statement.
PTI has not reacted to either of them as well.
