Shamshad TV
August 24, 2009, in Jamrud, Pakistan
Three unidentified gunmen fired at the Afghan journalist and
his colleague, Ali Khan, while they were traveling on a public minibus near the
town of Jamrud, Khyber Agency, northwestern Pakistan,
according to local and international news reports.
A white car carrying the gunmen intercepted the bus with
Hashimzada and Khan as it was en route to Peshawar
from the Afghan border town of Torkham,
according to The Associated Press. The gunmen targeted the journalists,
killing Hashimzada and severely injuring Khan, according to AP. No other
injuries were reported.
Both journalists worked for Afghanistan’s Shamshad TV.
Hashimzada, the station’s Peshawar-based bureau chief for Pakistan, also reported for AP, the
Pajhwok Afghan News agency, and other news outlets, the reports said. No one
claimed responsibility for the killing, according to news reports.
Hashimzada was known as a critic of the Taliban insurgency
in Afghanistan, and his
reports had challenged authorities and intelligence agencies in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the reports said. “He
received threats four weeks ago to leave Peshawar
and not report Taliban and Al-Qaeda activity in Pakistan. It is clear … he lost his
life for reporting,” Danish Karokhel, director of Pajhwok Afghan News agency,
told CPJ.
Medium: Television
Job: Broadcast Reporter
Beats Covered: Politics, War
Gender: Male
Local or Foreign: Foreign
Freelance: No
Type of Death: Murder
Suspected Source of Fire: Political Group
Impunity: Yes
Taken Captive: No
Tortured: No
Threatened: Yes
