Daily Tawar
Date unknown in 2013, in Karachi, Pakistan

Razzaq, 35, a copy editor for the news desk of the Urdu-language pro-Baluch nationalist newspaper Daily Tawar, had been missing since March 2013. He was last seen leaving his friend's house in the Liyari neighborhood of Karachi on March 24, 2013 according to news reports.

Razzaq's body was found in the Surjani Town area of Karachi on August 21. His face was mutilated, and his body showed signs of strangulation and torture, according to Agence France-Presse. His body was found alongside that of another man from Baluchistan, according to news reports. The reports cited unnamed police sources as saying they found paper slips with the names of both victims along with the bodies. At least 16 bodies of Baluch individuals were found in the Surjani Town area of Karachi in the six months preceding Razzaq's death, according to news reports.

Razzaq's family initially denied that the body was that of the journalist, but then later confirmed his identity, reports said.

Daily Tawar is known for its coverage of the many conflicts between rival groups and the government. Razzaq, who had worked for the Daily Tawar since 2009, briefly left the newspaper after another Daily Tawar journalist was found dead after being reported missing, according to Razzaq's friend, who spoke to CPJ by email. Javed Naseer Rind was found in November 2011 with multiple bullet wounds in his head and chest, and his body showed signs of torture, news reports said. Rind had been missing for two months. Razzaq resumed his work at the paper in December 2012.

Razzaq was also a supporter of the Baluch National Movement, a nationalist political organization.

In a press conference at the Karachi Press Club following the journalist's disappearance in March, Razzaq's family members accused Pakistani intelligence agencies of being responsible for the abduction, but did not elaborate. CPJ research shows that Pakistan's intelligence agencies are suspected in a number of disappearances, including the 2011 abduction and murder of Saleem Shahzad.

Journalists from Baluchistan face pressure from a number of sources: pro-Taliban groups and Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies, as well as Baluch separatists and state-sponsored anti-separatist militant groups.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.

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