Journalist gunned down in Swat

The gunmen fled while Javedullah Khan was rushed to a local hospital

SWAT: A former peace committee member and local journalist, Javedullah Khan, was gunned down by unidentified armed men in the Shakardara area of Matta tehsil in Swat, late on Tuesday night, police said.

Swat police said that Javedullah Khan was heading to his fields in his car on Tuesday evening when unidentified gunmen shot at his vehicle, leaving him seriously injured. The gunmen fled while he was rushed to a local hospital. There, he succumbed to injuries.

After completing medico-legal formalities, his body was handed over to his family.

Police officers said soon after the incident, a squad along with counter-terrorism personnel rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. A search was also launched for the suspects. Later, a first information report (FIR) was registered against unidentified gunmen at the Kabal police station.

Police said that they were unsure of the motive behind Javedullah’s murder, adding that the victim’s family has suffered at the hands of militants in different areas of Swat, losing as many as 15 members of his family in targeted attacks over the past few years.

Javedullah worked for a local Urdu language publication while his elder brother, Hameedullah Khan, works for the Qatar-based news outlet Al-Jazeera.

A local leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Javedullah was laid to rest in his native town on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2020.