Muhammad Jan

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Two unidentified men riding a motorcycle on January 12, 2017, fatally shot Muhammad Jan, a reporter for the Urdu-language daily newspaper Qudrat in the Qalat district of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, and fled the scene, according to news reports. He was 37. Jan was also press secretary at the press freedom group the Pakistan Media Council and a teacher at a secondary school in Qalat.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Police opened an investigation into the murder, but as of January 23, 2017, had not yet named any suspects. A police officer told Agence France-Presse that Jan had not told police about any threats he might have received, or about any personal disputes.

Baluchistan, mired in a protracted conflict involving separatist and militant groups, is a particularly dangerous place for journalists. With insufficient or no official investigation into the crimes, it is often hard to determine the motives for the attacks.