Nowshera (National Times) A local journalist Malik Hassan Zaib was shot dead by unknown assailants in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Sunday.

According to police, the victim was on his way in a car along with his brother. His brother escaped the attack, they added. The journalist’s body had been shifted to a nearby hospital, according to police.

The paramilitary forces also gathered clues and various CCTV footage from the crime scene.

The short video clearly shows attackers, riding a motorbike, opening fire at the journalist’s car in the city area of Akbarpura, District Police Officer (DPO) Azhar Khan said.

The slain journalist’s brother filed a first information report (FIR) of the incident, the police said.

They said three investigation teams had been constituted to probe the incident.
Journalists from across the country condemned Zaib’s killing. The Khyber Union of Journalists, condemning the murder, demanded KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Gandapur take notice and arrest the assassins immediately.

It is the third incident of the assassination of a journalist within two months, KHUJ President Nasir Hussain said.

The Peshawar Press Club also regretted the killing of the journalist. PPC President Arshad Aziz Malik sought updates from the KP IG and DPO Nowshera. Talking to the media, he said the top police officer of the province assured him of the early arrest of Hassan Zaib’s killers.

“The inspector general said the PPC would be apprised of any progress made in the investigation of the journalist’s murder case,” the PPC official said, adding that the IG has summoned an initial report from the DPO Nowshera.