42 journalists killed in Pakistan in past 4 years: Minister

New Delhi: As many as 42 journalists have been killed in the country over the past four years, Pakistan Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi informed the Senate on Friday.

In a written reply, the Minister in response to a question posed by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed informed that out of the 42 slain journalists, 15 were assassinated in Punjab, 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 in Sindh, and three in Balochistan.

In most of the cases, journalists were shot dead, targeted and killed by terrorists while some of them were untraced

As per the data seven suspects were arrested in Punjab out of which two were currently out on bail. The data also reveals that five out of the seven arrested were standing trial while eight suspects were on the run. While, one accused was released by the court.

Also, four suspects were arrested in Sindh while seven were facing trial, the data shows. “Two suspects were acquitted in KP and four others were facing trial while one suspect was on the run,” according to media reports.

Similarly, two suspects had escaped n Balochistan and one was facing trial while one suspect was facing an investigation.

Speaking in the Senate, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Mushtaq Ahmed said the federal and provincial governments had failed to protect journalists. “If the culprits had been caught, then “Arshad Sharif would not have been martyred,” he said.

Abbasi responded Ahmed saying that it was a “critical situation” and the government should take prompt action to book the culprits and provide adequate security to journalists.

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