Mohammad Ismail

Pakistan Press International

November 1, 2006, in Islamabad, Pakistan

Ismail, Islamabad bureau chief for Pakistan Press International, was found on the morning of November 1 near his home in Islamabad with his head "smashed with some hard blunt object," according to Mazhar Abbas, secretary-general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. The Associated Press reported that a police investigator said an iron bar may have been used as a weapon.

Ismail, nearing retirement, was last seen the previous night as he was leaving his house to take a walk. Doctors who received the body when it was taken to a local hospital told PFUJ that Ismail had been dead a few hours before being discovered.

Ismail's family told Abbas that they were at a loss as to what could have prompted the attack. They told him Ismail was carrying little of value when he was assaulted. Ismail's news agency is not known for particularly critical reporting of the government, CPJ research shows.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.