Some progress : Suspect arrested in journalist’s murder

4 suspects in journalist's murder still at large.

HYDERABAD:

The family of journalist Ashraf Panhwer, who was killed on Saturday night during a wedding in Mirpurkhas, has implicated five people in his murder. Satellite Town police has arrested one of the accused while four others are still at large.

The slain journalist’s son, Wazir Ali Panhwer, also a witness, and he has identified Hashim Brohi, Ishaq Brohi, Karo Brohi, Gulzar Brohi and Rashid Makrani. All the accused are from Mubarak Panhwer village, where the wedding also took place, which is located on the road connecting Mirpurkhas to Mithi and Naukot.

Gulzar Brohi was arrested on Sunday. Police also seized a rifle, which is believed to be the murder weapon.

Panhwer’s family and the media are dissatisfied with the police. “Wazir has nominated five people in the FIR but only one has been arrested so far despite the fact that all the accused live in the same village, and the four Brohis are from the same family,” said Ashraf’s brother Nazeer, a journalist at Sindh TV.

“Minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi and others have visited us for condolence. They are all putting pressure on the police to arrest the culprits but the necessary action seems to be lacking.” Nazeer.

He said Ashraf had tried to stop a fight between two groups of youngsters. The accused intervened and opened fire on Ashraf, who died of multiple bullet wounds on the way to Civil Hospital, Mirpurkhas.

Muhammad Saleh Otho of Mirpurkhas Press Club criticized the police, saying journalists are killed with impunity here. “The president of our press club, Mehmood Sultan Chandio, was gunned down in December, 2010, but the suspects were never arrested. Similarly, the killers of Zubair Mujahid, a reporter for Jang newspaper, are still at large despite the passage of over two years.”

Satellite Town SHO Lala Javed said that the suspects might have escaped from the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2011.