Lehri, an International News Agency reporter who was also secretary of the Mastung Press Club, was shot dead by three unknown assailants near his home, which was under construction. CPJ was unable to determine the reason for his killing.
According to CPJ’s review of a copy of the First Information Report (FIR), which opens a police investigation, Lehri was killed because of his reporting against local criminals. The journalist’s brother, Saeed Ahmed, said in the FIR that he and Lehri were walking in the direction Gulkand village for a reporting assignment when three assailants armed with an AK47 and pistols approached them and shot Lehri multiple times. Ahmed described the attackers, who he named, as members of a mafia and said they killed Lehri in retaliation for his reporting on mafia activities in Mastung district.
The Pakistan Press Foundation reported that the initial police investigation suggested Lehri was killed in a land dispute because he had built a wall around a site where members of the community had warned him not to build.
In September 2024, police in Baluchistan province did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via email.