Karak Times
October 11, 2013, in Karak District, Pakistan

Khattak, a reporter for the Karak Times in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's southern Karak district, was shot dead outside his home, according to news reports and the Freedom Network, a Pakistani press freedom watchdog organization. Eyewitness accounts said two unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle waited outside Khattak's home, fired at him when he appeared, and then fled the scene, the reports said.

Khattak's colleagues said he had recently published a story on the sale of illegal drugs and a local gang of drug peddlers, according to news reports. Khattak had worked as a journalist since 2004, and had received threats in the past after his reports exposed criminal elements in the region.

Khattak's family said they believed Khattak had been targeted in relation to his work. The journalist's son filed a First Information Report with the police, in which he named two individuals as drug dealers, claiming they were responsible for his father's murder, according to the Freedom Network.The murder came only days after Minister of Information Pervaiz Rasheed expressed his support for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate attacks against journalists as part of the implementation of the larger U.N. Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity at a meeting in Islamabad on October 8.

Medium:Print
Job:Print Reporter
Beats Covered:Crime
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Type of Death:Murder
Suspected Source of Fire:Criminal Group
Impunity:Yes
Taken Captive:No
Tortured:No
Threatened:Yes

Disclaimer: © Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ.

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.