Reporter Nasrullah Gadani of the Sindhi-language publication Awami Awaz passed away on Friday due to gunshot wounds he received from unknown assailants on a motorcycle close to Mirpur Mathelo in the Ghotki district.
Prior to the assault, a video that captured Gadani documenting a prominent local citizen traveling in a police-mandated convoy went viral. According to reports from Ghotki, the reporter—who was well-known for taking a strong stand against influential people and local feudals—had been receiving threats against his life.
Gadani was flown in an Edhi air ambulance on Wednesday to Aga Khan Hospital after first being referred to the hospitals in Rahim Yar Khan and Mirpur Mathelo.
“He was admitted to Aga Khan Hospital with abdominal gunshot wounds. He passed away from his wounds despite efforts to save his life, a medical representative informed.
A large number of journalists, political activists, and members of civil society condemned Gadani’s execution.
The registration plate of the murdered journalist’s motorcycle bore the motto “Bhotar my foot” (feudal under my foot), which quickly went viral on social media.
The Sindhi journalism community demanded the arrest of Gadani’s attackers and organized rallies in several districts after his death.
Numerous sources claim that the police have taken into custody a number of Ghotki district suspects. Their identities haven’t been made public yet, though.
Human rights advocates, political party leaders, and the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) all made separate statements urging the IGP and the chief minister to file a formal complaint and take strong action against the real offenders, irrespective of their power and position in the community.
The nation is ranked as the 11th most dangerous for journalists by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which notes that more than 64 journalists have died in this country since 1992. This terrible reality was brought home when a journalist in the Ghotki district was seriously injured by unknown assailants on a motorcycle close to Mirpur Mathelo town.
In Sindh, more than 13 journalists have died in the last four years. Jan Mohammad Mahar of Kawish Television Network, a Sindhi news channel, was one of them. His daytime murder in Sukkur, which is still unsolved, highlights the inadequacy of police enforcement.
In a similar vein, the authorities have been unable to uncover the reasons behind the deaths of Sagheer Ahmad Laar and Ghulam Asghar Khund, who were slain in Khanpur and Khairpur, respectively.
The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) voiced worries earlier this month about measures to suppress press freedom in the nation and the rising violence against journalists.
The council emphasized that journalists routinely suffer kidnapping or detention even though Article 19 of the constitution guarantees them the right to free speech.
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