On May 21, Kamran Dawar, a freelance journalist based in the North Waziristan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was killed by unidentified assailants in front of his home in Tappi village.
CPJ was unable to establish the motive behind Dawar’s killing.
Dawar, who also ran the popular Waziristan TV on Facebook with 148,000 followers, had covered social issues on his digital outlet. Mohsen Dawar, a former Member of Parliament from Waziristan, said that the journalist faced threats against his life “for his critical views against militancy.” According to News Intervention, Dawar regularly voiced his criticisms of the Pakistani military on his social media platforms.
Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.