Geo journalist Wali Khan Babar remembered on seventh death anniversary

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 13 January 2018

Wali Khan Babar, a journalist for Geo News, was murdered in Karachi on January 13, 2011. His death anniversary highlights ongoing legal challenges in his case.

Summary

KARACHI: The seventh death anniversary of Geo News journalist Wali Khan Babar was observed Saturday.

Babar, 28, was shot dead in Karachi on January 13, 2011, while returning home from work.

He was murdered shortly after his story on gang violence was aired.

Several witnesses in the murder case were killed including a police informant, two police constables, and the brother of an investigating officer, according to Geo.

In August last year, the Sindh High Court (SHC) overturned the death sentence of the primary accused of Babar’s murder.

The court overturned the sentence of Faisal Mehmood, alias Mota and ordered a retrial by the lower courts.

Faisal Mota was awarded death sentence in absentia, by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in March 2014 for masterminding the 2011 murder.

The SHC was hearing an appeal filed by Faisal Mota, said to be an MQM worker. He was arrested and detained in March 2015 in Karachi after Rangers conducted a raid at the MQM headquarters.

KEY POINTS:

• Wali Khan Babar was shot dead on January 13, 2011, in Karachi.
• The murder occurred shortly after he reported on gang violence.
• Several key witnesses in the case have been murdered.
• The Sindh High Court recently overturned the death sentence of the main suspect.
• Faisal Mota, the primary accused, is linked to the MQM party.