Journalist killed in Peshawar blast

Minister says it’s an incident of ‘target killing’.

PESHAWAR:

A journalist belonging to Khyber Agency was killed in an explosion on Tuesday night after his car was targeted in the busy Khyber Super Market area of the Peshawar Cantonment.

The white Vitz caught fire following the blast which was so powerful that it shook the entire area, shattering windowpanes of nearby buildings. The slain journalist was identified as Nasruallah Afridi, a Bara based correspondent for the local Urdu daily Mashriq.

City Police Chief Liaqat Ali Khan said the blast took place inside the vehicle but it was not clear whether it was caused by explosives or due to the explosion of the car’s CNG tank. SSP Operations Peshawar, Ijaz Ahmed, also told The Express Tribune that the cause of the explosion could not be ascertained.

However, a source said that an explosive device weighing around three kilogrammes was used. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters at the attack site that it was an incident of target killing. “Terrorists targeted him for his reporting,” Hussain said. He said that journalists were being wrongfully hurt for performing their duties, adding that the fight against terrorism will continue.

Nasruallh was a resident of Phase IV of Hayatabad and was on his way home when the blast took place. President of the Tribal Union of Journalist Ibrahim Shinwari told The Express Tribune that the journalist was targeted, adding that Nasrullah is the ninth reporter - belonging to the tribal area - to be killed by militants.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2011.