Rehman, a senior reporter for Samaa TV, died in a hospital
from injuries he sustained in a bomb blast that occurred 10 minutes after an
initial explosion near a billiards hall in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan
province, according to Zahid Hussain, Samaa TV director of news.
Rehman’s colleague, Imran Shaikh, a senior cameraman for
Samaa TV, was killed in the first explosion, according to Samaa TV Senior Producer
Azam Gondal and news reports.
The twin blasts killed dozens, including police, emergency
workers, and journalists who rushed to the scene of the first explosion, according
to news reports. The billiards hall is in a predominantly Shia area of Quetta.
The bombings were part of a series of bomb attacks reported across Pakistan
that day, news reports said.
The Associated Press reported that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a
sectarian militant group, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Bakar Saddiq,
a spokesman for the group, said a suicide bomber carried out the first attack,
while the second was a car bomb that had been detonated remotely, the AP said.
Rehman had worked for Samaa TV for more than two years,
Hussain told CPJ. He is survived by his wife.