(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 7 February 2005 CPJ press release: Two Pakistani journalists killed, two others wounded in gun attack New York, February 7, 2005 – Gunmen in Pakistan’s tribal area of South Waziristan fatally shot two journalists today and wounded two others. Amir Nowab, also known as Mir Nawab, a freelance cameraman […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 7 February 2005 CPJ press release:
Two Pakistani journalists killed, two others wounded in gun attack
New York, February 7, 2005 – Gunmen in Pakistan’s tribal area of South Waziristan fatally shot two journalists today and wounded two others. Amir Nowab, also known as Mir Nawab, a freelance cameraman for Associated Press Television News and a reporter for the Frontier Post newspaper, and Allah Noor, who was working for Peshawar-based Khyber TV, became the first journalists in 2005 to be killed in the line of duty.
The journalists were on their way back from the town of Sararogha, where they were covering the surrender of suspected tribal militant Baitullah Mehsud.
A car overtook the journalists’ bus at around 7:30 p.m. near the town of Wana, and assailants opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles, according to The Associated Press, which quoted Mahmood Shah, chief of security for Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Anwar Shakir, a stringer for Agence France-Presse, was wounded in the back and is in stable condition, according to news reports. A fourth reporter, Zardad Khan, who was working for Al-Jazeera, was not seriously injured.
The Pakistani military has been cracking down on suspected al-Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan, a semiautonomous tribal region.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions in Pakistan, visit http://www.cpj.org
For further information, contact Asia Program Coordinator Abi Wright (x140) or Research Associate Kristin Jones at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: asiaprogram@cpj.org, awright@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
The information contained in this press release/alert is the sole responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.
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