Journalists Killed in 2013 - Motive Confirmed: Aslam Durrani
- Document source:
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Date:
1 March 2014
Daily Pakistan
April 16, 2013, in Peshawar, Pakistan
Durrani, 55, news editor of the Urdu-language Daily Pakistan, was killed in a suicide bomb attack during a political rally for the Awami National Party in the northwestern provincial capital of Peshawar, according to news reports. His death was confirmed to CPJ by a staff member at the Lahore offices of the paper by phone. News reports also identified him as Tariq Aslam Durrani.
News accounts reported that more than 20 others were killed in the attack, which occurred in the densely populated neighborhood of Yakatoot. The explosion occurred just after the arrival of Awami National Party leaders, The Associated Press reported. Senior police official Shafqat Malik told AFP that the attack was a suicide bombing.
Two other journalists were injured: Ehtesham Khan, a correspondent for Express TV, and Azhar Ali Shah, a reporter for Daily Pakistan, both of whom were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, which came less than two weeks before national elections, according to local reports. The group's spokesman, Ihsanullah Ihsan, told local news media that the target of the attack was Haroon Bilour, a lawyer running for a parliamentary seat that had been held by his father, Bashir Bilour, who was assassinated last year by the Taliban, the reports said. Haroon Bilour survived the attack.
Durrani was survived by his wife and four sons.
| Medium: | |
| Job: | Editor |
| Beats Covered: | Politics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | No |
| Type of Death: | Dangerous Assignment |
| Suspected Source of Fire: | Political Group |
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