IFJ Mourns Death of Young Reporter in Pakistan

IFJ Mourns Death of Young Reporter in Pakistan

June 17, 2011 - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply saddened to learn that a trainee journalist who was badly injured in a double-blast in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 11 has died in hospital.

Shafiullah Khan, 28, died on the night of June 16 in a hospital at Wah Cantonment, near Rawalpindi, where he was being treated for severe burns.

He had joined The News International as a trainee reporter at its Peshawar office only a week before the attack, according to the Khyber Union of Journalists, an affiliate of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

Shafiullah Khan is the sixth journalist reported killed in Pakistan in 2011 in relation to their work.

His colleague, Asfandyar Abid Naveed, of the daily Akhbar-i-Khyber, died in the same incident, when a suicide attack at the Khyber Super Market late on June 11 followed a low-intensity blast a few minutes earlier.

Shafiullah Khan was from Palangzai village near Miranshah, the headquarters of militancy-plagued North Waziristan Agency, and had recently completed a Masters in Journalism.

New to journalistic work, he joined others in rushing to the scene of the first minor blast just a few metres away from the newspaper’s office, and fell victim to the subsequent suicide attack.

More than 40 people died in the incident, while eight media personnel including Shafiullah Khan were among the more than 100 people injured. Most of those killed were reported to be young students.

“The IFJ extends its deepest sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of Shafiullah. Tragically, his eagerness to cover an important story came at too high a cost,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The deaths of Shafiullah and Asfandyar Abid Naveed once again draw acute attention to the dire need for media outlets in Pakistan to provide education and training on safety measures for media personnel at all levels.”

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific

Find the IFJ on Facebook here

ENDS

© Scoop Media