Daily Times

A senior journalist Khalil Jibran has been killed by unidentified gunmen near his residence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Landi Kotal town, police said Wednesday.

Jibran, who was associated with a private news channel – Khyber News – was targeted by unidentified miscreants on a motorcycle when he was heading towards his residence with his friend Sajjad Advocate, District Police Officer (DPO) Khyber Salim Abbas said.

He detailed that the journalist’s car developed a fault near his home when the gunmen surrounded him, dragged him out of his vehicle and opened fire at him. Jibran, who was also former president of the Landi Kotal Press Club, died on the spot and Sajjad got wounded, while the culprits fled from the scene. His body was shifted to a Landi Kotal hospital for post mortem, the police officer said.

The incident took place in Mazreena area in the vicinity of Landi Kotal Police Station, he added. Abbas claimed that Jibran had also received threats from terrorists. A first information report (FIR) of the murder was registered in the Landi Kotal police station against the unknown suspects on the complaint of Sajjad, who is also an eye witness in the case, the DPO told the media. The DPO said that terrorism provisions have been added to the case.

Meanwhile, the slain journalist was buried in his native village Sultan Khel, after several people attended his funeral prayer. Prior to the funeral prayer, a protest was recorded by journalists, political and social personalities on the Khyber-Pak-Afghan highway where the Gibran’s body was also kept.

The protestors demanded that the journalist’s killer be arrested immediately.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned Gibran’s killing, instructing the KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and relevant authorities to arrest his murderers.

According to a statement released by the PM Office, the premier said the government will take strong measures to ensure the safety of journalists. He also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the slain journalist’s family. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also condemned Jibran’s murder.

The Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) strongly condemned the gruesome murder of the Khyber News’ reporter and demanded the KP chief minister and federal interior minister to bring Jibran’s killers to justice.

In a statement, the association criticised the higher authorities’ failures to stop such incidents as journalists were continuously facing torture, abductions and threats across the country.

Last month, another journalist from a Sindhi newspaper, Nasrullah Gadani, was targeted by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants near Korai Goth, 12 kilometres from Mirpur Mathelo, leaving him seriously wounded on May 21.

Gadani was, at the time of the unfortunate incident, riding his motorcycle. Following the attack, police shifted him to Civil Hospital Mirpur Mathelo, where he received emergency medical aid and was then sent to Rahim Yar Khan for surgery.

Later, he was shifted to Karachi via an air ambulance for better treatment, with the Sindh government announcing to bear all of his medical costs.

However, even shifting him to a better hospital could not bear fruit as he succumbed to his wounds around three days later and breathed his last.