Law enforcement agencies of Pakistan succeeded in their efforts and have arrested alleged killers of Baloch journalist Irshad Mastoi and two his colleagues.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Safaraz Bugti during a press conference at the Home Ministry informed media on September 2 that the arrested target killers had confessed to the killing of journalists in Quetta. He further stated suspects belonged to the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

He identified the killers as Shafqat Ali Rodani codenamedNaveed and Ibrahim Nachari codenamed Shah Jee. They were also involved in 31 cases of terrorist attacks, targeted killings, bomb blasts and other criminal activities.

In their confession statement, they gave details of the murder plot and objectives. According to Shafqat Ali, Ustad Aslamcodenamed Aucho was the mastermind of the plot and SohailMarri the facilitator.

Shafqat Ali said that they walked into the Online office, when he opened fire at Mastoi two other men at the office tried to stop him and he fired at them as well.

In his confession, Shafqat Ali also revealed that his group wanted to use the killing in their propaganda at the UN and other forums against intelligence agencies.

Background

On 28 August, 2014, at about 7:45 pm armed men barged in the office of news agency Online and killed Irshad Mastoi, Abdul Rasool and Muhammad Younas by open fire at them. In the firing incident Mastoi injured critically and his colleagues died at the spot. Mastoi was immediately shifted to a hospital; however he succumbed to deadly wounds.

According to details, a firing incident took place inside Kabirwala Building located at the Jinnah Road, Quetta, a crowd and high security zone and the assailants managed to escape unhurt from the spot.

Mastoi was Bureau Chief of news agency Online, assignment editor of ARY News and also general secretary of the Balochistan Union of Journalists.

Abdul Rasool was a final year student of Mass Communication at Balochistan University. He had completed a three-month internship in the news agency and now working as a reporter.

Mohammad Younis was serving as an accountant in the news agency for a number of years.

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Quetta Press Club, Balochistan Union of Journalists, other journalists unions and even leaders of political parties had recorded their condemnations for the killing and demanded arrest of the culprits.

Pakistan Press Foundation

QUETTA: The Balochistan government has yet to decide whether or not it should make public a judicial commission’s report on the targeted killing of a senior journalist in Quetta.

Irshad Mastoi, bureau chief of Online news distribution agency, as well as a reporter Abdul Rasul and an accountant Mohammed Younus were killed on August 28, 2014 while they were at work in their office in downtown Quetta.

After the incident, Balochistan High Court (BHC) had formed a judicial commission, which recorded statements of witnesses to probe the killing.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Durrani said judicial commission had submitted its report around two weeks ago.

“The report is sent to Balochistan chief minister and chief secretary and they will decide whether it should be made public or not,” he said.

“We asked the commission to probe murder cases of 14 Balochistan journalists. However, the commission has submitted a report on the triple murder case,” he said.

He said the remaining murder cases will be referred to a sessions court judge as the high court does not have enough judges to look after such a huge number of cases.

The home secretary, however, disputed the figure of Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), which claims that as many as 40 journalists have so far been killed in Balochistan since 2007

“We have compiled the list of those who are journalists and do not have other jobs,” he said.
Commenting on the issue, the BUJ President Irfan Saeed said they demand judicial investigation into all the 40 cases. He said he will not comment on the report until he himself reviews it.

Meanwhile, other BUJ members said they have the complete list of the murdered media men, adding that they challenged government officials to debate on the number of journalists killed in Balochistan.

They said the government had not properly investigated even a single murder case.

Insurgency-hit Balochistan is one of the worst places in the world for journalists as it faces multiple issues like militancy, extremism, sectarian violence and proxy wars.

Express Tribune

The post Irshad Mastoi: Journalist’s murder probe complete appeared first on Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF).

The reference was held by the Quetta Press Club for Online news agency’s bureau chief Irshad Mastoi, reporter Abdul Rasool and accountant Mohammad Younus, who were shot dead in their office in the city on Aug 28. Rezaur Rehman, the president of the club, presided over the meeting and speakers included senior journalist Saleem Shahid and Irfan Saeed.

They condemned police failure to arrest the killers and said journalists would continue their struggle till the killers were caught and media personnel provided protection.

They said Irshad Mastoi was an outspoken and brave journalist who wrote on problems faced by people and added that he had been killed for his bold views.

They criticised the federal and Balochistan governments for their `lack of interest’ in investigation into the triple murder case.

Journalists had been staging rallies and observing token hunger strike for the past three weeks but the government was yet to take notice of their protest, they deplored.

The speakers said that although 40 journalists had been killed in Balochistan over the past few years, neither the killers had been identified nor the motive for the killing established.

“If telling the truth is our fault or crime, we want to make it clear that we will never abandon this practice come what may,” they said.

They criticised political parties for their failure to come up with a strong reaction to the killing of media workers and said only issuance of condemnation statements was not enough.

DAWN

President Balochistan Union of Journalists Irfan Saeed, President Quetta Press Club Razaur Rehman, Vice President PFUJ Saleem and others were also present.Afzal But said for the first time in the history of Pakistan press clubs in all the four provinces were locked on the appeal of BUJ and journalists protested but the rulers took no notice.

“There are delaying tactics in the arrest of killers of these journalists. The PFUJ is planning protest in Quetta. If their killers are not arrested within one week ‘chalo chalo Balochistan ki taraf chalo” movement would be launched in which journalists from all over the country would participate and stage sit-ins till the arrest of killers.”

He said the PFUJ had staged dharnas in front of four provincial assemblies and the National Assembly a few months ago. “Our biggest demand is security for all media group offices and journalists should be given security forces protocol on their martyrdom.”

He said the speaker National Assembly and the chief ministers of four provinces had promised the protesting journalists to security and payment of compensation to their relatives on the pattern of the security forces relatives.

“We are tired of lifting the bodies of our colleagues; target killing of Irshad Mastoi and his colleagues is a big tragedy. The federal and provincial governments are responsible for it,” Afzal Butt said.

President PFUJ would lead a protest rally here on Monday (today). The rally would originate from press club and reach in front of Balochistan Assembly Secretariat where a human chain would be formed. Political parties, civil society representatives and journalists have been requested to participate.

The News

Journalist unions held demonstrations in various cities and towns and hoisted black flags on press club buildings.

The call for protests was given by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and Council of Pakistan Press Clubs against the killing of Online news agency’s bureau chief Irshad Ahmed Mastoi, reporter Abdul Rasool and accountant Mohammad Younis. They were gunned down inside their office in Quetta on Aug 28.

Mr Mastoi was general secretary of the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ).

In Quetta, the press club was locked at 9am and a protest camp was set up outside where media workers stayed till evening.

Wearing black armbands and holding black flags, the protesters raised slogans against the government and security agencies.

Around 60 press clubs in districts and tehsils of Balochistan also remained closed.

Press clubs in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other cities and towns in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained closed for four to five hours.

Talking to this correspondent on phone from Islamabad, PFUJ president Afzal Butt condemned the killing of the three media workers. He criticised security agencies for their failure to arrest the killers.

He expressed concern over persistent attacks on media personnel in Balochistan and other parts of the country. Leaders of various political parties and office-bearers of Balochistan High Court Bar Association visited the camp in Quetta to express solidarity with media workers.

The protesters were addressed by BUJ president Irfan Saeed, Media Action Committee chairman Shahzada Zulfiqar and Quetta Press Club president Razaur Rehman.

They criticised the government for having failed to protect media workers.

They called for setting up a judicial commission to investigate the murder of the three media workers in Quetta.

DAWN

Mr Mastoi, reporter Abdul Rasool and accountant Mohammad Younis of Online news agency were gunned down at their office on Aug 28.

Carrying banners and placards, the media workers marched through different roads of the city and later gathered outside the press club where they raised slogans against the government and security agencies.

The protesters announced that press clubs across the country would remain closed on Monday in protest against the killing of journalists.

Addressing the protesters, BUJ president Irfan Saeed, Media Action Committee chairman Shahzada Zulfiqar, Quetta Press Club president Razaur Rehman, Abdul Khaliq Rind, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists’ senior vice-president Saleem Shahid and Haji Mohammad Yousuf condemned the killings and expressed dismay over the failure of security agencies to arrest the killers.

They said journalists were being targeted all over the country but the provincial governments had failed in arresting their killers. The country’s intelligence agencies had adequate resources and they should arrest elements involved in the killing of journalists, they added.

They criticised the Balochistan government over its failure to form a media commission for investigating the murders of journalists in the province. Over 40 journalists have been killed in Balochistan over the past five years.

They said journalists would continue their protest until killers of the three media workers were arrested. Reporters from Khuzdar, Kech, Panjgur and some other towns of Balochistan said it had become difficult for them to report impartially the incidents of violence in their areas.

DAWN

Two unidentified gunmen stormed the offices of the independent news agency Online International News Network in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, killing the bureau chief Irshad Mastoi and a reporter, Ghulam Rasool Khattak. A network employee, accountant Muhammad Younis, was also killed, according to news reports.

All three were shot several times, according to police. Khattak and Younis were killed immediately, and Mastoi was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead, reports said. The assailants fled the scene, according to reports.

“This brazen attack underscores the dangers faced by journalists in Baluchistan where the press is constantly under pressure from all sides,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “The authorities must bring not only the gunmen but also those who commissioned them to justice. Anything less will send the signal that journalists can be killed with impunity.”

Mastoi was secretary-general of the Baluchistan Union of Journalists, the largest journalist body in the southwestern province, according to Malik Siraj Akbar, editor and founder of The Baloch Hal news website. Mastoi was an assignment editor for the privately owned news channel ARY News and had written for publications including The Express Tribune. He had reported on issues including the political situation in the restive region, according to colleagues.

It is not clear what Khattak covered at the news agency.

Baluchistan–Pakistan’s largest province by area and smallest by population–is mired in an insurgency and sectarian strife. Its residents are faced with criminal activity, daily disappearances and targeted killings, and international journalists are routinely denied access to the province.

CPJ research shows that local journalists in Baluchistan face pressure from a number of sources: pro-Taliban groups and Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies, as well as separatists and state-sponsored anti-separatist militant groups. At least six other journalists have been murdered in Baluchistan in direct relation to their work in the past decade, according to CPJ data.

Committee to protect journalists