Two Pakistani journalists were murdered by unidentified assailants on July 1 and 2, including prominent journalist Iftikhar Ahmed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and local reporter Ishtiaq Sodharo in the Sindh province. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Pakistan affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), condemn the journalists’ killings and urge the Pakistani government to arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible and implement stronger security measures to ensure the safety of journalists in Pakistan.
One journalist is missing, and two others have been arrested by Taliban authorities since the beginning of June amid mounting attacks on Afghanistan’s media. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Afghan affiliates, Afghanistan’s National Journalists Union (ANJU) and the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), condemn the Taliban’s increasing arbitrary arrests of journalists and media workers and call for an investigation into the disappearance and arrests of the three journalists.
In a continued slate of attacks against Afghan media, journalist Reza Shahir was beaten by Taliban militants for a second time on June 3 and three other journalists were charged with criminal insult on May 4. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the attack and the arrests of the four journalists and urges the Taliban to cease its increasing assaults on journalists and media workers.