Journalist killed in Hub car bomb blast

KARACHI: Reporter of a local TV news channel, Shahid Zehri was killed on Sunday night when the blast took place in a car in Hub, an industrial city in Balochistan connected to Karachi.

According to the initial reports, the blast took place in a car near the police station in Hub on Sunday night, in which Shahid Zehri was present along with his colleague. Initially, the blast was reported to have been caused by a locally-made hand grenade, but later police and the bomb disposal squad reached the spot to confirm that the blast was caused by a bomb. However, CCTV footage surfaced, suggesting that the magnetic bomb device, attached with the reporter’s car, was exploded.

According to the Hub police, two blast victims were rushed to the Civil Hospital Hub, from where the critically-injured journalist was shifted to the Karachi Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Separatist group of Balochistan, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) through the social media claimed the responsibility for the attack, saying that the reporter was spying on them. The reporter’s funeral prayers will be offered in the Hub area today (Monday). The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ), meanwhile, strongly condemned the targeted killing of Shahid Zehri. In a statement, PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary General Nasir Zaidi, condemning the brutal act of targeted killing of the journalist, called for immediate arrest of the culprits.

The PFUJ leadership urged the provincial and federal authorities to strictly deal with anti-media elements, who are committing crimes against peaceful journalists and provide safety and security to the media community in the country. “Provincial and federal government failed to provide security to journalists and media workers, which is alarming,” they said.