Murder of Pakistani reporter
March 29th, 2009
My mailbox has been full of messages about the murder last Thursday of the veteran Pakistani reporter, Raja Assad Hameed. My condolences to his family and to all serious journalists, in Pakistan, and elsewhere in the world, who risk their lives in order to let the public know what is happening in the world. These two paragraphs are from Reporters without Borders.
Hameed was about to enter his house at 10:10 p.m. last night when he was shot three times in the face and once in the neck by unidentified gunmen. Members of his family rushed him to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital where he died from his injuries. The motive for the murder is not yet known.
The Nation editor Mahmood Hamdani said he and the entire staff were stunned by Hameed’s death. “It feels as though we have lost a brother. It is clear that no one is safe here.”
The sombre dawn over Lyme Bay this morning reflucts my mood. Dark and threatening but not entirely without promise of better days to come. Let’s hope that Raja’s death was not in vain, and that Pakistan will emerge from the present lawlessness.
T