The body of Abdul Hameed Hayatan, a young Baloch journalist who was abducted in the southwestern port city of Gwadar on October 25, was found beside the River Sami in Turbat, 40 km to the east, on November 18. His reporting critical of the Pakistani authorities and his support for the Baloch national movement were almost certainly the motive for his abduction and murder.
“If the local and federal authorities want to rein in the violence in the province of Balochistan, they must conduct an exhaustive and impartial investigation into Abdul Hameed Hayatan’s murder,” Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said. “If it goes unpunished, the province’s journalists will have every right to treat it as another extrajudicial execution.”
Hayatan was shot in the head and chest. Marks on his body clearly indicated that he was tortured before being killed. The body of a student, Hamid Ismail, was found alongside Hayatan’s. In a reference to a Muslim Eid (festival) that has just ended, a message found with the bodies said: “Eid present for the Baloch people.”
Journalists based in Balochistan told RSF that Hayatan was probably murdered by members of the security forces (who are fighting Baloch armed separatists) or a Jihadi group. Balochistan is by far the most dangerous region in Pakistan for the media. Three other reporters have been killed there this year. One was gunned down in June and two others were killed in suicide bombings, in April and September .
Several cases of extrajudicial executions of journalists in Pakistan have not been investigated properly. They include the 2006 abduction and murder of Hayatullah Khan in the tribal area of North Waziristan.
