Global press freedom agency calls for new investigation into journalist murder

After a report highlighted a major error in the official police investigation into the case, leading press freedom organizations called for an independent reinvestigation of the murder of journalist Zubair Mujahid, who was killed in 2007.

The paper is entitled “Breaking the Silence: The Committee to Investigate and Protect Journalists (CPJ) in the Murder of Zubair Mujahid to bring justice to murdered journalists around the world. The document was released on Wednesday at a press conference held by the Karachi Press Club.

As a reporter for the Daily Jang, Pakistan’s largest Urdu-language newspaper, Mujahid worked as a reporter in Mirpuhas, Sindh, and exposed local corruption and human rights violations in his news reports. He was murdered during the turbulent fall of the Pervez Musharraf regime in November 2007.

The report shows that what is striking is that some of his most influential stories exposed the misconduct of the local police in Milpurcas, leading to the dismissal of several police officers. “Therefore, Zubair Mujahid received threats from individuals in the police station. The mission of the same department is to investigate this murder.”

The report revealed serious errors in the official police investigation. Specifically, it found that police investigators did not analyze the bullet that Zubair was shot and did not look for witnesses around the crime scene. Mirpurkhas police did not respond to a request for comment.

The report called for the establishment of an effective and impartial investigation team to re-investigate the murder under the auspices of the Sindh High Court. FPU Director Leon Willems said: “The killing of journalists is the safest crime in the world: in nine out of ten cases, the perpetrators are at large. To break the cycle of impunity, the Pakistani authorities must step up their efforts. To ensure justice for Zubar Mujahid.”

At the same time, Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, commented: “In the past ten years, Pakistan has been punished almost completely for killing journalists. The reinvestigation of Zubar Mujahid’s case is to break impunity. An important step in the cycle.”

For RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire, Mujahid was murdered for revealing the truth. “Now the murder must be fully investigated and justice must be done,” he said. According to a study by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, since 1992, at least 61 journalists have been killed in Pakistan. In the latest World Press Freedom Index released by RSF, the country ranks 145th out of 180. This report is the second in a series of reports. Investigate unsolved murders of journalists worldwide.