Journalist Bachal Ghanio was shot dead by unidentified assailants in District Ghothk, Sindh on Tuesday. According to the police, Ghanio was attacked while visiting his fields. His body has been transported to Obaro Hospital for further examination, and an investigation is currently underway.
Witnesses and residents have speculated that the killing may have been carried out by bandits. Ghanio’s family has protested outside the senior superintendent of police’s office in Mirpur Mathelo, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible.
Ghanio’s son revealed to the media that his father had previously been involved in a feud with some community members. Despite the resolution of this dispute, the journalist was killed. This was not the first attack on Ghanio; he had been targeted by the same adversaries in the past.
In response to the murder, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has demanded the swift arrest of the perpetrators and has called for a heightened crackdown on criminal elements in the region. Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon has condemned the attack and assured that justice will be served.
The recent killings of journalists in Pakistan:
Last month, reporter Malik Hassan Zaib was shot dead by unknown assailants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera district while he was traveling with his brother.
On May 3, Muhammad Siddique Mengal of Balochistan was killed in a bomb attack. Ashfaq Ahmed Sial from Muzaffargarh was shot by two motorcyclists on May 15, while Kamran Dawar from the Tapi area in North Waziristan was shot dead on May 21.
On the same day, journalist Nasrullah Gadani was shot by assailants on motorcycles near Korai Goth, 12 kilometers from Mirpur Mathelo, and succumbed to the injuries three days later.
Journalist Khalil Jibran of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Landi Kotal area was also shot dead by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle on June 18.
