Sindh chief minister seeks report after anchorperson Imtiaz Mir shot in Malir

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday took notice of an attack on Metro 1 News anchorperson Imtiaz Mir in Karachi’s Malir area that left him injured.

According to a statement issued by Saudabad police late Sunday night, Mir was shot by unknown gunmen in Malir district’s Kala Board area. “It seems to be targeted,” the statement said, adding that further investigation was underway.

CM Shah expressed deep regret over the incident and sought a report on the attack from Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, according to a statement issued by the CM’s spokesperson, Abdur Rasheed Channa.

Saudabad Station House Officer (SHO) Atiqur Rehman told a local media outlet that Mir was admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital. He sustained two bullet wounds, including one on the mouth.

“He was travelling in a car, which his brother was driving, when armed pillion riders targeted him at Malir’s Kala Board,” the SHO said.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar condemned the attack and directed the immediate arrest of the perpetrators. He also sought a report from the East district’s deputy IG.

“Protection of journalists and media workers should be ensured at all costs,” Lanjar was quoted as saying. “Protection of the lives and property of citizens is the top priority of the government. The suspects should be brought to justice.” The police were also instructed to investigate the motives behind the attack.

The attack comes amid a string of violence targeting journalists in Sindh. In May 2024, police in Shikarpur claimed to have killed Sheroo Mahar, a notorious dacoit and prime suspect in the murder of senior journalist Jan Mohammad Mahar, in a drone strike in the kutcha area of the district. Jan Mohammad Mahar had been shot dead by unknown assailants after leaving his office in Sukkur on August 14, 2024.

In April 2024, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) raised concerns over threats issued to media personnel by supporters of a religious party. That same month, Khairpur police claimed to have arrested five suspects in the murder of journalist Allah Dino Shar, aka A.D. Shar, who worked for an Urdu news channel.

Shar was killed a day prior in Aliabad within Thari Mirwah police station jurisdiction, prompting protests at press clubs across Khairpur district.

In November 2023, Nadeem Ahmed, a senior reporter at 92 News TV channel, was shot and wounded in an armed attack in Karachi’s Karsaz area.

According to a report published earlier this month by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), 87 journalists were killed in Pakistan between 2006 and 2023, with only two of those cases having been “resolved.”