The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the murder of Pakistani journalist Zaman Mehsud in the country’s tribal region, reports Geo TV.
He worked for the Urdu-language Daily Ummat and was president and secretary-general of the south Waziristan chapter of the Tribal Union of Journalists and district coordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in the Tank area of Khyber Pahktunkhwa.
Police reported that Mehsud, who was 38, was shot five times while riding his motorbike. Hours later Taliban commander Qari Saif Ullah Saif told Reuters: “We killed him because he was writing against us... we have some other journalists on our hit list in the region. Soon we will target them.”
The widely respected Mehsud was a reporter in a notoriously lawless region where violence, including targeted killings, is commonplace. His death brought to 71 the number of journalists and media workers killed in Pakistan since 2002.
The killing was condemned by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Its Asia programme coordinator, Bob Dietz, said his murder “deserves the full attention of investigative authorities. Pakistan can ill afford to add to its history of impunity for murderers, no matter who claims responsibility.”
