Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain strongly condemned the killing of a correspondent of a private television channel Malik Mumtaz in Miran Shah in North Waziristan.
In a statement issued by MQM, Altaf said the brutal killing of Malik Mumtaz was an attack on the freedom of press in the country.
He sympathised with the bereaved family of the slain journalists and offered condolence to the journalists’ community.
He appealed the government to take serious notice of the killing of Malik Mumtaz and steps to protect journalists in the country.
Meanwhile, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) also condemned the killing of Malik Mumtaz.
According to reports from the PFUJ, Malik Mumtaz, a correspondent of a private media group, was returning home after visiting a nearby village when unknown assailants fired at his car killing him instantly. Mumtaz was associated with the local media group for the last two decades.
He was recently elected president of Miranshah Press Club. He is survived by his two sons and a daughter.
In a statement, PFUJ President Pervaiz Shaukat said the government should immediately find and punish those behind this attack.
“We demand the government to direct the law enforcement agencies to arrest the perpetrators as early as possible,” Shaukat said.
PFUJ Secretary General Amin Yousaf came down hard on the government for its repeated failure to check the rising targeted killings in the country, especially of journalists whose killers have never been arrested.
“The government should wake up and take strict action against the killers who go scot-free after committing the crime,” Yousaf said.
