PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen on Sunday shot dead a Pakistani journalist in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, police said.
Hassan Zeb, who was affiliated with a local newspaper, was gunned down in Akbarpura Bazaar of KP’s Nowshera district, according to police.
This is the second such killing in the province, which borders Afghanistan and has been the scene of a number of militant attacks, in less than a month.
On June 19, unidentified assailants had shot dead Khalil Jibran, a former president of the Landi Kotal Press Club, in KP’s Khyber tribal district, according to police.
“Two unidentified bike riders opened fire on the journalist, leaving him dead on the spot,” Hameed khan, a police officer at the Akbarpura police station, told Arab News. “Initial investigation suggests that the slain journalist had no personal enmity.”
No group claimed responsibility for the killing.
In a statement, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur extended his sympathies to Zeb’s family and directed police do the needful for the arrest of the perpetrators.
Pakistan witnessed a spike in militant violence in its two western provinces, KP and Balochistan, since the Pakistani Taliban called off their fragile truce with the government in November 2022. The group has intensified its attacks in recent months.
Earlier this week, an army captain and two militants were killed in separate gunfights in North and South Waziristan districts of the KP province, the Pakistani military said.
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.
Another journalist shot dead in Pakistan’s restive northwest within a month
https://arab.news/p6g5b
Another journalist shot dead in Pakistan’s restive northwest within a month
- Hassan Zeb was gunned down in Nowshera district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- KP has been the scene of several attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccinators in recent weeks
Kazakhstan president to explore trade, connectivity cooperation in first state visit to Pakistan tomorrow
- Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to visit Pakistan from Feb. 3-4 with high-level delegation, says Pakistan’s foreign office
- Kazakh president to meet Pakistani counterpart, hold talks with PM Shehbaz Sharif and address Pakistan-Kazakhstan Business Forum
ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will explore bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in trade, regional connectivity, logistics and other sectors when he undertakes his first state visit to the country this week, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Monday.
Tokayev will arrive in Pakistan leading a high-level delegation comprising senior cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials from Feb. 3-4, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
Tokayev is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart President Asif Ali Zardari, hold talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and address the Pakistan-Kazakhstan Business Forum during the visit, the foreign office said.
“The visit will provide the two sides an important and timely opportunity to undertake a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, discuss new avenues for broadening cooperation, particularly in trade, logistics, regional connectivity, people-to-people contacts, and explore collaboration at regional and international forums,” the statement said.
The foreign office said Tokayev’s visit reflects the strengthening bonds between Pakistan and Kazakhstan, their mutual commitment to transforming historic and cultural affinities into robust cooperation, as well as their common desire for peace and progress in the region.
Relations between Pakistan and Kazakhstan are rooted in shared Islamic heritage and a growing strategic partnership, with Pakistan offering landlocked Central Asian republics access to southern seaports for global trade. Pakistan was among the first countries to recognize Kazakhstan when it gained independence in December 1991 and formally established diplomatic relations with it on Feb. 24, 1992.
The two countries have held regular interactions over the past couple of years on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meetings and other international events. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Murat Nurtleu visited
Pakistan in September 2025 to discuss economic and trade cooperation with Islamabad.
Islamabad and Astana engage with each other to promote business and political ties via three forums mainly, which are: Bilateral Political Consultations, the Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, and the Joint Business Council.
According to the government of Kazakhstan, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $53.7 million in 2024. Pakistan’s main exports to Kazakhstan include citrus fruits, pharmaceutical products, garments, soap, sports equipment and gear and others.
Kazakhstan’s exports to Pakistan primarily include onions and garlic, dried leguminous vegetables, oats, buckwheat and other cereal grains, seeds and fruits of other oil-bearing crops, among others.
