A Christian journalist shot dead in northwestern Pakistan

ISLAMABAD

: A Christian journalist was shot dead by unknown gunmen near his house in the

northwestern Pakistani city

of Dera Ismail Khan, police said on Tuesday.


According to the FIR, unidentified gunmen riding on a motorcycle opened fire on

Qais Javed

, 37, at midnight near his house in Dera Ismail Khan, a district bordering the volatile tribal region on North Waziristan.

Azmatullah, an officer at a police station where the FIR was lodged, said the journalist was shot multiple times and was rushed to the city’s main hospital but died on the way. “No arrests have been made so far,” the police official said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killing and police said they were investigating to determine the motive. The deceased’s family said that he did not had personal enmity with anyone.

Javed was working with a local daily newspaper, Ehadnama. He had also worked as a cameraman for a private news channel and had recently started his own web channel.

In recent years, several extremist groups have targeted members of religious minorities in Pakistan.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Pakistan is considered to be one of the most dangerous places for journalists. Seventy journalists have been killed in the country in the last two decades.

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