On 1 January 2014, Pakistani journalist Shan Dahar was shot by armed men and taken to a local hospital where he remained unattended until he succumbed to his injuries. To date, none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.
Zakir Ali – also known as Shan Dahar – was Bureau Chief of Abb Takk Television channel in Larkana district of Sindh province, Pakistan. Shan was shot in the back at 12:30am on 1 January 2014 and taken to Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), where he remained unattended until he succumbed to his injuries in the morning, nine hours later.
The local police, in an investigation that his family believes to be flawed and motivated, declared the death an accident that resulted from celebratory shooting on New Year’s Eve. However, the family believes he was targeted because of his stories on the illicit sale of medicine donated by NGOs in local hospitals. The media community in Pakistan likewise believes that the killing was retribution for his journalistic work. Shan was working on a number of incendiary stories at the time and had received threats prior to the shooting.
In the nine hours that he spent at CMCH, Shan managed to inform his friends and family by telephone that Amir Zehri and Irfan Zehri were the individuals that gunned him down. However, neither man is currently being investigated for the crime of murder; instead they are facing trial in absentia after absconding from judgment.
IFEX member the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) successfully advocated with the family of Shan Dahar to have the case re-investigated as an intentional killing, based on evidence that refutes the claim of an accidental death and points to a possible cover-up by local officials. PPF is currently working with the family and other stakeholders to ensure the new investigation leads to the identification and prosecution of those responsible for Shan’s death. Impunity in Pakistan is rampant, as evidenced by PPF’s findings that of the 72 cases of killing of media practitioners since 2002, there have been convictions in only three cases.
Key Actors
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/irfan.jpg)
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![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/home_secretary_sindh.jpg)
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ppf3.jpg)
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What IFEX Members Are Doing
The Pakistan Press Foundation is working with the family of Shan Dahar, as well as other local and international stakeholders to have the case re-investigated. PPF seeks to promote a free and independent media in Pakistan and routinely documents and condemns violations against the press.
Bytes 4 All Pakistan has offered its support as part of its mandate to advocate for free expression in South Asia. Bytes 4 All Pakistan focuses on the use of Information and Communication Technologies for strengthening development and human rights in Pakistan and beyond.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined Shan Dahar’s family in advocating for his case. In 2014 CPJ sent a delegation to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to secure commitments to combat threats facing journalists in Pakistan. Shan Dahar’s death was highlighted in the 2015 Impunity Index.
MORE RESOURCES & INFORMATION
Caught between the state and extremists: Country profile of Pakistan
Why is Pakistan one of the most dangerous environments in the world for journalists and human rights defenders?