JournalismPakistan.com
March 05, 2014

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemned the killing of a journalist in Abbottabad. On Sunday March 2, journalist Abrar Tanoli was shot in the neck by unidentified gunmen while travelling with his family in Mansehra. He passed away in the early morning of Monday March 3.

Tanoli, the General Secretary of Mansehra Press Club, was a photographer for Reuters and a reporter for local newspapers, Daily Mahsib and Daily Shamal. According to PFUJ and the Abbottabad Union of Journalists, he was under threat for his reporting and had recently been provided police protection for a two-month period.

In January, 2013,  Tanoli was arrested and released on bail in a case of murder of two students, whose family had publicly threatened him of revenge.

The IFJ said it joins the PFUJ in condemning the state’s failure to provide security to a journalist whose  life was clearly threatened over his reporting and calls on the Pakistan government to thoroughly investigate this case and bring his attackers to justice expediently.

The IFJ also expressed its deepest condolences to the Tanoli family.

Pakistan remains one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists, this is the sixth murder of a member of the media in Pakistan this year.

“The IFJ is deeply concerned about the day-to-day threats faced by Pakistani journalists and the ongoing climate of impunity that consistently leaves justice denied in the case of journalist murders,” the IFJ said.

On January 21, IFJ issued a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif calling for “serious and overdue action” to protect Pakistani journalists and bring attackers to justice.