IFJ welcomes arrests of suspects in murders of Express News staffers

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 6 January 2016

The arrests of two suspects linked to the 2014 murders of Express News staff have been welcomed by the IFJ and PFUJ. They stress the need for justice for media professionals in Pakistan.

Summary

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) have welcomed the arrest on January 5 of two suspects in connection with the murder in 2014 of three media workers of Express News Television. The Karachi police arrested Tanver Nadim and Squib Ahmad Pasha, reportedly affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (a faction of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) and claimed they had confessed the killing of the three media workers as well as police staffers in different attacks. Technician Waqas Aziz Khan, driver Khalid Khan and security guard Ashraf Arian were shot dead as they sat in an Express TV van on January 17, 2014 in Nazimabad, Karachi. A fourth staff member, a cameraman, was injured and survived the attack. Four gunmen on two motorbikes had approached the stationary vehicle and opened fire through the window. The three men were shot multiple times from close range and died on the spot. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack. The PFUJ has demanded swift investigations into the killings and prosecution against its perpetrators to ensure justice to the families of the assassinated media workers. The IFJ president Jim Boumelha said: “We welcome the arrest of two suspected murderers of media staffs in Pakistan. Pakistan has routinely failed to arrest murderers and bring them to court which has contributed to an almost total impunity for crimes perpetrated against media professionals. More than 100 journalists have lost their lives since 2000 in Pakistan yet justice has been served in only two cases so far, the murders of Daniel Pearl and Wali Babar Khan.” “We urge Pakistan’s judiciary system to speed up investigations and try the accused as soon as possible to provide justice to the slain media workers. We also urge the government of Pakistan to take all appropriate measures to arrest the murderers of other journalists and ensure our colleagues can work in a safe and fearless environment on the ground.” - IFJ

From JP Archives: Taliban ambush Express TV van, kill three