{"id":6801,"date":"2024-05-03T16:37:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T16:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801"},"modified":"2024-05-03T16:37:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T16:37:05","slug":"bomb-blast-kills-pakistani-journalist-on-world-press-freedom-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801","title":{"rendered":"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/322F37AD-480B-416F-8F6F-EBC89BF13895_w800_h450.png\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"wsw\">\n<span class=\"dateline\">ISLAMABAD \u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan ripped through the car of a regional journalist Friday, killing him and two passersby on World Press Freedom Day.<\/p>\n<p>Local police said that the afternoon attack in the Khuzdar district of Baluchistan province injured seven people, mostly passersby. They identified the slain journalist as Siddique Mengal, the district press club president, and said he apparently was the target.<\/p>\n<p>Ghulam Mustafa Rind, an area police officer, told VOA by phone that Mengal was wheeling slowly through a busy crossing when an unidentified motorcyclist attached a homemade magnetic bomb to his vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s office said in a statement that he \u201cexpressed deep sorrow and grief over the martyrdom\u201d of Mengal.<\/p>\n<p>No group immediately claimed reasonability for the bombing in natural resources-rich Baluchistan, which has lately experienced almost daily attacks mostly claimed by ethnic Baluch insurgents. Militants loyal to the Islamic State terrorist group and the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are also active in the province.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistani security forces are also accused of targeting critics of their counterinsurgency operations in the province with attacks and enforced disappearances.<\/p>\n<p>Friday\u2019s attack is yet another instance of the dangers that journalists face in their line of work in Pakistan, both from government forces and militants. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, which promotes press freedom globally, lists Pakistan as \u201cone of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with three to four murders each year that are often linked to cases of corruption or illegal trafficking and which go completely unpunished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RSF\u2019s annual World Press Freedom Index, released Friday, dropped Pakistan\u2019s ranking from 150 to 152 in 2024, indicating a worsening situation for press freedom in the country. The index assesses the level of freedom available to journalists and media outlets in various countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Death threats<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, on Friday urged Pakistan to immediately investigate death threats and online harassment targeting a prominent television anchor, Hamid Mir.<\/p>\n<p>The global press freedom advocate said in a statement that Mir, who hosts the flagship political show \u201cCapital Talk\u201d on Geo News and has survived at least two previous assassination attempts, told CPJ that he had received multiple death threats on social media and warnings that his life was in danger from two journalists familiar with the situation.<\/p>\n<p>Mir, who has 8.4 million followers on his social media platform X, posted a video of Friday\u2019s attack in Khuzdar, with an accompanying comment that suggested the violence could be \u201ca message to all independent journalists\u201d in Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe threats and online hate campaign against one of Pakistan\u2019s most prominent television anchors illustrate the severity of intimidation and pressure faced by journalists in Pakistan,\u201d said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ Asia program coordinator. She called on Pakistani security agencies to urgently act against those trying to silence Mir and hold them accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistan ranked 11th on CPJ\u2019s 2023 Global Impunity Index, which ranks countries by how often the killers of journalists go unpunished.<\/p>\n<p>Sharif, in a statement on World Press Freedom Day, said that his government was determined to ensure the safety of Pakistani journalists, stating that freedom of expression &#8220;is the foundation of democracy and protection of civil rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/bomb-blast-kills-pakistani-journalist-on-world-press-freedom-day\/7596725.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD \u2014\u00a0 A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan ripped through the car of a regional&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day - International Pulse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day - International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD \u2014\u00a0 A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan ripped through the car of a regional...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-03T16:37:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/322F37AD-480B-416F-8F6F-EBC89BF13895_w800_h450.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801\",\"name\":\"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day - International Pulse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-03T16:37:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-03T16:37:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\",\"name\":\"International Pulse\",\"description\":\"There&#039;s a different sound here\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day - International Pulse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day - International Pulse","og_description":"ISLAMABAD \u2014\u00a0 A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan ripped through the car of a regional...","og_url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801","og_site_name":"International Pulse","article_published_time":"2024-05-03T16:37:05+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/322F37AD-480B-416F-8F6F-EBC89BF13895_w800_h450.png"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801","name":"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day - International Pulse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-03T16:37:05+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-03T16:37:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6801#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bomb blast kills Pakistani journalist on World Press Freedom Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/","name":"International Pulse","description":"There&#039;s a different sound here","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news"],"url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"}]}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-768x402.jpg",640,335,true],"large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-1024x536.jpg",640,335,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06.jpg",1200,628,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-1115x628.jpg",1115,628,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/A519C5F6-1C92-49AA-8786-0A73D404CC06-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?cat=9\" rel=\"category\">News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}