Journalists Killed in 2003 - Motive Confirmed: Fazal Wahab

freelance
January 21, 2003, in Mingora, Pakistan

Wahab, a freelance writer, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen while he was sitting in a roadside shop in Manglawar Bazaar, near the resort town of Mingora in northwestern Pakistan. The shopkeeper and his young assistant also died in the attack.

Wahab, who lived in Mingora, had published several books in Urdu and in Pashto – the language spoken in the border region of Pakistan and parts of neighboring Afghanistan – that criticized local religious leaders and Islamic militant organizations.

Local journalists and human rights activists told CPJ that Wahab had been receiving threats for years in response to his writings. Although they do not know who is responsible for his murder, his colleagues believe that he was targeted for his work.

Among Wahab's most controversial works was a book titled Mullah Ka Kirdar (The Mullah's Role), which analyzed the Islamic clergy's involvement in politics. He had also recently completed a manuscript about Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

During the last decade, a militant group known as Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) has gained strength in Mingora and the surrounding Malakand Region. Wahab's writings and outspoken opposition to radical and militant strains of Islam made him particularly vulnerable to attack.