Reposted from Committee to Protect Journalists | October 1, 2012 | Story;
Also see: The Baloch Hal News | September 29, 2012 Baloch Journalist Murdered in Khuzdar District

Journalist Abdul Haq

New York, October 1, 2012--Unidentified assailants shot to death a prominent journalist on Saturday in the city of Khuzdar in Baluchistan province, according to news reports. Abdul Haq Baloch was the secretary-general of the Khuzdar Press Club and a longtime correspondent of ARY Television, news reports said.

Haq was killed as he was leaving the press club to go home, news reports said. He had not received any threats, news reports cited ARY as saying. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A number of journalists have died in strife-torn Baluchistan this year. Secessionist groups, religious militants including the Taliban and remnants of Al-Qaeda, and a heavy-handed government response have combined to make the province the most dangerous in Pakistan.

"We condemn the murder of Abdul Baloch Haq and send our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "Authorities must investigate this murder, and journalists in Baluchistan must band together to confront the growing onslaught on their lives."

The Baluchistan Union of Journalists released a statement condemning Haq's death and demanding the formation of a high-level committee to investigate the brutal murder and provide security for journalists.

Pakistan ranked 10th on CPJ's Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered regularly and their killers go free. With the exception of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's death in 2002, no one has been prosecuted in Pakistan for the death of a journalist.

At least three other journalists have been killed in Pakistan this year, two of whom occurred in Baluchistan, according to CPJ research. Pakistan remains among the deadliest countries in the world for the press, with only Syria and Somalia having more journalist murders in 2012, according to CPJ research.

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The Baloch Hal News

KHUZDAR: The Secretary General of Khuzdar Press Club and a correspondent of ARY News channel, Abdul Haq Baloch, was shot dead on his way back home on Saturday evening in Khuzdar by unidentified attackers, police confirmed.

Local authorities said Mr. Baloch, 37, was gunned down on Chakar Khan Road when he was returning from the local press club to go home. The attackers managed to flee the scene.

Family sources said they were not aware of any threats that Mr. Baloch had previously received.

Prior to Saturday's killing of the Baloch reporter, at least two former presidents of the same press club, Mohammad Khan Sasoli and Faiz Sasoli, have been killed. The other reporters who were shot dead in the line of duty in Khuzdar include Haji Wasi Ahmed of Daily Azadi and Munir Shakir of Online News Network.

In all cases of target killing journalists, none of the murderers have been arrested or punished by the government.

According to the Associated Press, at least 2o journalists have been killed in Balochistan in the past six years since the nationalist conflict broke out while Pakistan has had the world's highest number of slain reporters for the past two consecutive years.

Authorities in Khuzdar said they were investigating the killing.

Journalists in Balochistan have strongly condemned Mr. Baloch's killing and appealed to the government to take action against the senseless murder. As a mark of protest, journalists in Khuzdar District locked their office and refused to send news stories to the head office of media outlets they represent in their district.

The Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani has also condemned the killing.

Last month, on August 31st, the Joint Secretary of Gwadar Press Club, Dilshad Dehani, was murdered in Karachi where he had gone to attend a media workshop organized by the International Federation of Journalists (I.F.J.).

The Baloch Hal News | September 29, 2012 Baloch Journalist Murdered in Khuzdar District