Summary of case

On October 10, a reporter for Metro 1 television channel Shahid Zehri, was killed in an explosion in the industrial area of Hub. Citing police, Dawn reported that the 35-year-old journalist was on his way home when the blast took place. Some reports said that the device was attached to his car and was set off with a remote control. Meanwhile, another police official, Younis Raza, said that it was a grenade attack. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. According to The News, in a statement shared on social media, the BLA said “the reporter was spying on them”. Zehri’s brother Zahid Ashraf told PPF that his slain brother was very passionate about his work. He was the breadwinner for his family and left behind three daughters, a widow and his parents. Ashraf said that Zehri had not discussed any threats. He said a first information report (FIR) had been registered at the City Police Station in Hub and the police were investigating the case. Metro 1 Director News Dr. Buland Iqbal termed the incident a brutal act of target killing and strongly condemned the attack. “Shahid Zehri was a passionate journalist, his death is a major loss to the organization and for his family,” he said, adding that Zehri used to report on general activities from Hub and was not on any special assignment and had not discussed any threats. “It is too early to figure out whether the attack was related to Shahid’s journalistic work or not,” he said. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) also condemned the murder and called for “immediate arrest of the culprits”.

Updates

In a statement, PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary General Nasir Zaidi urged both provincial and federal authorities to “strictly deal with anti-media elements, who were committing crimes against peaceful journalists and provide safety and security to the media community in the country”.
Speaking to PPF, Zehri’s brother Ashraf claimed that in every court proceeding of the Anti-Terrorism Court, the officials hide the developments in the case. According to Ashraf, in May 2023, officials arrested two local boys. However, Ashraf admitted that he had not attended court proceedings since 2022. In March 2023, the slain journalist received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.