A gunman shot dead a local TV journalist in the port city of Karachi before turning the gun at himself, police and health officials said on Tuesday.
Bol News anchorperson Mureed Abbas was gunned down on Tuesday night in Defence area, police said.
Police officials said, citing initial details, that he was killed over personal dispute in Khayaban-e-Bukhari area.
DIG (South) Sharjeel Kharal said that friends of the deceased informed the police that he had a monetary dispute with someone whose identity police had withheld. He added that a friend of the anchorperson, Khizar Hayat, also received two bullets in the same incident. Hayat was shifted to a private hospital but he succumbed to his wounds.
The officer said that a police party raided the residence of the suspected killer Atif Zaman and found that he had attempted suicide. “The suspect shot himself in the chest,” he said, adding that the suspect was shifted to a local hospital in a critical condition.
Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Executive Director Seemin Jamali confirmed that Abbas had been brought dead to the hospital. She said that the anchorperson sustained multiple bullet wounds on chest and abdomen.
Abbas’s wife, Zara Abbas, also confirmed the police version while talking to reporters at the hospital. She said her husband had a monetary dispute with the suspect.
Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kaleem Imam took notice of the incident and directed the deputy inspector general concerned to furnish a report. He directed the authorities to constitute a team to arrest the killer.
He also directed the officials concerned to conduct a forensic examination of the evidence collected from the crime scene.
Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor expressed sorrow over the killing of Mureed Abbas.
The ISPR DG took to Twitter, saying “Saddened to know about the assassination of TV anchor Mureed Abbass. May Allah bless his soul.”
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the killing of Mureed Abbas and directed Sindh government to arrest the killers.
The incident followed days after the international journalists associations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), expressed concern in their respective reports over growing threats and physical violence against journalists in Pakistan, which ranks 106th in the World Press Freedom index.
The state-run media watchdog took off air several TV channels earlier this week for airing live speech of Maryam Nawaz, a key opposition leader and daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Also, several TV anchors who were critical of the government’s performance complain of threats from political activists and security agencies.
