12 years later no justice for the journalist Janullah Hashimzada

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Twelve years ago, on August 24, 2009, the bureau chief based in Peshawar for Afghanistan’s Shamshad Television, Janullah Hashimzada, was shot to death while travelling back from Afghanistan on a minibus near Jamrud in the northwestern Khyber district of Pakistan.

At the time, the then Peshawar Press Club President Shamim Shahid said that the incident was “purely a targeted killing”.

He added that Hashimzada was “very critical of the Taliban, and some of his reporting was unacceptable both to the Pakistan and Afghan government and intelligence agencies. He had too much information regarding the militants, the Taliban and the intelligence agencies”.

Speaking to Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), last month, Shahid said that Hashimzada had told him many times that he had received threats via calls and some unknown individuals used to follow him. According to Shahid, the slain journalist had also come to the press club and hid there many times as people followed him.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Shehzada Zulfiqar said the case was still not confirmed.

“No one can confirm the motive behind the murder until police and other security departments complete their investigation,” he said, adding that he did not have any updates regarding the case.

On August 24, 2009, operating in plain view, three masked men opened fire with pistols on the minibus, killing Hashimzada instantly and wounding his colleague, Ali Khan.

Then Assistant Political Agent Jamrud Rehan Khattak had said Hashimzada was going to Peshawar from Torkham via a coach and “four masked men in a car” had forced the coach to stop, Dawn reported. The report added that Hashimzada was “shot at from a close range”. His colleague, Khan was injured.

Hashimzada worked for several Afghan and Pakistani news media, including the Afghan independent news agency Pajhwok and the Pashtun newspapers Vahdat and Sahar. Friends had said he covered sensitive issues and had been subjected to threats and pressure during the three weeks, prior to his death, to abandon his journalistic work and leave Peshawar