A journalist working for a private TV channel was killed on Sunday in Pakistan's Punjab province by unknown gunmen, the channel said. Yaqoob Shehzad, a news correspondent with the Express News was sitting with a friend inside an office in Gujranwala city when armed men came and opened fire.
The victim was hit thrice, killing him on the spot while another man sitting next to him was injured. The police rushed to the spot and collected evidence. It will also talk to the injured man once his condition is stable.
The police also plans to look into Shehzad's news reports aired in the past few days to see if he was targeted because of his work. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of murder and asked police to submit a report within 24 hours.
Express News reported that Shehzad had been working with it since the channel started. He was also the chairperson of the city's press club. Pakistan remain one of the most dangerous places for journalists and Reporters Without Borders, an international non-governmental organisatuion, has labeled it as the deadliest country for journalists in 2010 and 2011.
A recent report by Committee to Protect Journalists has also chronicled murder of 53 journalists in the country since 1992. Hamid Mir, a prominent news anchor was attacked in Karachi by armed militants in April this year, but he survived the attack.
