New York, May 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in calling for a thorough investigation into the killing of Sindh-based journalist Ghulam Rasool Birhamani. His body was found Monday morning, outside the village of Wahi Pandhi in Sindh province. Both organizations reported that the journalist was kidnapped the evening before his body was discovered.
They also reported that his body was badly scarred and showed evidence of torture or abuse. Birhamani, 30, was a reporter for the Sindhi-language daily Sindhu Hyderabad.
PFUJ said Birhamani’s family is convinced that he was killed because of his reporting on ethnic violence in Sindh province. PPF reports that Birhamani had received threats from members of the Lashari tribe some days ago after he reported on the marriage of an underage girl from the tribe.
“We call for a swift and through investigation into the killing of Ghulam Rasool Birhamani,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Pakistan has an abysmal record in prosecuting the killers of journalists. It is time for the authorities to solve at least one case to show that these murders will not be tolerated.”
Pakistani authorities have won convictions in only one case in the past decade, the murder of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Twelve other journalist murders have gone unsolved during that time.