'Govt has failed': Panjgur press club shuts down to protest journalist's killing

Panjgur journalists condemn fellow reporter Rahmatullah Abid's murder, demand additional security.

QUETTA: The Panjgur Press Club (PPC) General Body announced on Monday to close the press club for an unknown period to protest against the killing of a registered journalist Rehmatullah Abid.

Members of the General Body of the PPC including Abdul Waheed the President PPC and vice president Qadir Bakhsh Sanjarani condemned the killing of Abid, a local journalist of Panjgur, announced three days of mourning in his honour and the closure of the Panjgur press club for an unknown period.

All journalists from the district attended the meeting and demanded that security for journalists should be ensured. They said they would further decide about a future course of action in their next meeting.

They paid homage to the slain journalist and sent condolences to his family.

They said that the attack on Abid was an attack on free media and said that the government has totally failed to protect the journalists who are working in Balochistan.

They further revealed that the murderer was yet to be arrested and due to government helplessness, journalists in Balochistan were feeling insecure to continue their work.

They said that PPC journalists had always played their role by being unbiased but under the given circumstances, they were feeling highly insecure and have thus decided to close the press club for an unknown period of time.

It may be mentioned here Rahamatullah Abid a local journalist of Panjgur was gunned down on Sunday by unidentified men.

Journalists are often threatened over their reporting in Balochistan. Late last month, sons of a journalist linked with Express News were shot at and killed.