April 26th, 2021
Staff Report
LAHORE
A 23- year old young journalist Abdul Wahid Raisani has been shot dead by an unknown assailant in Quetta on April 24 Saturday.
According to the first information report (FIR), Raisani was killed in an incident which the police described as a dacoity, because the accused also took away his motorcycle. The FIR was registered under section 397 (dacoity with attempt to cause death) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
He was shot four times in the back and was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.
According to the police, the incident is being investigated from different angles. “We have acquired the CCTV footage of the crime scene in which it can be seen that he was shot in the back”, SHO Saryab police station said.
“Unfortunately, the camera was unhinged, which is why the face of the accused is not clear in the footage. Apparently, it was a murder, but the accused also took the victim’s motorcycle which complicates the case.”
Asfandyar, brother of slain journalist told voicepk.net that his brother had no enmity whatsoever with anyone.
“Abdul Wahid was a very friendly and lively person. He was very close to me, but never said that he was being threatened by anyone for his journalistic work”, Asfandyar said.
Raisani had been working at a local Urdu language newspaper “Daily Azadi” for the last five years. He started his career as a computer operator in the organization and was later promoted to the post of sub-editor and reporter.
“His colleagues are very shocked by this incident, as they were also unaware of any threats he was facing”, Asfandyar said.
The Balochistan Union of Journalists strongly condemned the murder of Raisani and demanded that the killers be found immediately .
The union has announced a protest outside the Balochistan Assembly on April 26 and said they will boycott the assembly’s proceedings, giving it no media coverage.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the killing and urged the authorities to arrest the perpetrators of the attack.
According to the PFUJ, over 130 journalists have been killed since 2002, but not a single person was punished, encouraging total impunity for such attacks.
Last week veteran journalist Absar was shot and injured in a park in Islamabad but the attacker is still at large. The entire incident and fleeing of the assailant was recorded by multiple CCTV cameras, but the police have failed to arrest anyone related to the case.
According to the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan ranks 145 out of 180 in press freedom in the world.
