UNITED NATIONS - The head of the UN agency tasked with defending press freedom Friday voiced alarm at the number of journalists being killed in Pakistan, and called on authorities to investigate the two most recent murders which occurred last month.
“The number of journalists who are paying with their lives for doing their job in Pakistan is alarming,” the Director-General of the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in a statement.
Abdul Razaq Gul, a journalist of a private TV in Balochistan, was found dead on 19th May, according to Unesco. He had been kidnapped while returning home, and his body showed signs of torture.
Aurengzeb Tunio was a television reporter for a Sindhi-language television network in Lalu Ranwak village in Sindh. Some 20 gunmen are reported to have attacked his office, killing him, his brother and a family friend.
“I urge the authorities to investigate these killings. It is essential for freedom of expression and for good governance that those responsible for the death of journalists be brought to justice,” Ms Bokova added.
The latest killings bring to 27 the number of journalists and media workers killed in Pakistan since 2002, according to Unesco.