Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), in a letter to Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, is alarmed over the killing of Javier Valdez Cárdenas on May 15, in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state.

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali urged the government of Mexico, to thoroughly investigate the incident and bring to justice, the perpetrators of this brutal act and reinforce its commitment to media safety and freedom by ending the culture of impunity.

According to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Valdez was shot near the offices of Ríodoce, the local weekly he founded in 2003. He covered drug trafficking and crimes and wrote a number of books about the drug trade. Valdez had told CPJ in the weeks before his murder that he was concerned for his safety.

CPJ honored Javier Valdez Cárdenas with an International Press Freedom Award in 2011 to recognize his bravery and uncompromising journalism in the face of threats.