Hindu scribe shot in Pak's Sindh

Strap: Motive unclear; journalists blame cops, call it target killing

Karachi, March 20

A 31-year-old Hindu journalist in Pakistan has been shot dead by some unidentified assailants in the country’s Sindh province, the police said on Saturday.

Ajay Lalvani, a reporter with a private channel, Royal News TV, and an Urdu newspaper, Daily Puchano, died on Thursday after he sustained bullet injuries in the stomach, arm and knee.

Lalvani was getting a haircut at a barber shop in Sukkur city when assailants on two motorcycles and a car drove by and opened fire at him.

Lalvani was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died.

His father Dileep Kumar said the family had no enemies, dismissing the police’s claim of the murder being the result of a personal enmity, according to The News International.

Condemning the killing, Hindu member of Pakistan’s National Assembly (MNA) Lal Chand Malhi said it was a “matter of great concern”.

“Strongly condemn D killing of yet another journalist Ajay Kumar at Saleh Pat, Sindh. It is a matter of great concern that mediapersons are increasingly feeling unsafe in Sindh. Offered condolence to the heirs of the victim. Police should (go) beyond forming comtes. (sic),” he said on Twitter.

A group of journalists, holding the police responsible for the incident, protested against Lalvani’s killing and carried out a march, claiming that it was a targeted killing.

Lalvani’s body was cremated amid tension in Sukkur city which remained shut on the second consecutive day, the police said.

Journalists, many of whom from Karachi, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Larkana, Sukkur and other towns, participated in the last rites along with Lalvani’s relatives, friends and members of the minority Hindu community, Dawn newspaper reported.

The police said they were investigating the motive of the crime, and if it was linked with the victim’s professional responsibilities.

Pakistan ranks ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual Global Impunity Index, which assesses countries where journalists are murdered regularly and their killers go free.

Meanwhile, New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an American independent non-profit organisation, urged authorities in Sindh province to “must immediately launch a credible investigation” and apprehend those responsible for the killing.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

The majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with Muslim residents. — PTI