Pakistan journalist shot dead while getting haircut

Local reporters demand swift investigation into murder of Ajay Lalwani

Colleagues of Ajay Lalwani said he had been involved in covering protests against the police before his killing (EPA-EFE)

Police have launched an investigation after a journalist was shot and killed in Pakistan while having his hair cut at a barber shop.

Ajay Lalwani was hit multiple times on Thursday in the shooting – which took place in the city of Sukkur in Sindh province – and taken to hospital where he died from his wounds later that evening.

The 31-year-old worked as a reporter for both a local TV station and an Urdu-language newspaper.

A police officer told the AP news agency: "We are looking into all aspects of the matter, collecting evidence from the scene and recording statements from witnesses to pinpoint the cause of the offence."

They also said witnesses had seen a single gunman open fire on Mr Lalwani but officers were keeping an open mind about whether others had also been involved.

Although local detectives have not yet stated if the journalist was targeted because of his work, many in Sukkur reportedly are convinced Mr Lalwani was killed because he was a reporter.

According to Pakistan’s The News, a local fraternity of journalists marched from the hospital where their colleague died to his burial place in protest against his death, while some shopkeepers have shuttered their stores in solidarity.

The newspaper also reported Mr Lalwani’s father had dismissed suggestions by the police his son’s murder was the result of a personal grudge.

The Sindh Journalist Council has appealed to the province’s chief minister and police chief to take swift action to apprehend Mr Lalwani’s killers, while the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also condemned the slaying.

“Police in Sindh province must waste no time investigating the killing of journalist Ajay Lalwani and apprehending those responsible,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia coordinator.

“It’s critical that the investigation be led by officers who are able to maintain public confidence, given the long the history of tensions between local journalists and the police in Sukkur.”

There have been frequent and sometimes violent confrontations between local Sukkur journalists and police, with allegations regularly made that officers detain and file false charges against reporters in efforts to prevent them from covering alleged corruption, the CPJ said.

Earlier this week, officers in Sukkur lodged terrorism charges against journalists who had been covering demonstrations against the police.

According to Mr Lalwani’s editor at the Daily Puchano, the newspaper where he worked, the slain journalist was an active member of the Sindh Journalist Council, which has been involved in regular protests against the police.

Pakistan has long been one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist. In 2020 there were 15 unsolved murders of reporters, placing the country ninth on CPJ's annual Global Impunity Index.