Condolences as reporter is killed in Swat

New York, November 10, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists extends its condolences today to the family and colleagues of Mohammed Shoaib, a reporter for the daily Azadi who was shot Saturday in the town of Mingora in the Swat Valley. 

Security forces shot Shoaib when he failed to stop his car for a military convoy enforcing a curfew, international news reports said. The convoy had warned him to stop before it opened fire, the reports said.

His death did not appear to be related to his work. Local news reports said Shoaib was returning from the hospital with an ill daughter at the time of the shooting. His daughter was unhurt in the shooting, the reports said.

“We express our deepest sympathy to the family and colleagues of Mohammed Shoaib for his unfortunate death,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator.

Journalists face risks while working in Swat. Taliban militants abducted Azadi reporter Abdul Aziz Shaheen in August. Shaheen later died when a Pakistani airstrike hit the site where he was being held.