Police launch man-hunt after killing of journalist Shaheena Shaheen

Shaheena Shaheen, a talk show host at state-owned broadcaster Pakistan Television and editor of a local magazine, was shot dead at her home in Turbat on Saturday evening.

Police in southwest Pakistan have launched a hunt for the killers, with her husband being a suspect.

“We have registered a case and started a search for the killer of the female journalist,” Siraj Ahmad, investigating officer on the case from Turbat district of Balochistan, said on Sunday.

Ahmad said Shaheen’s family suspected her husband of the murder. Shaheen had a court marriage about six months ago and was living with her husband, according to the police.

According to hospital sources, Shaheen was dropped off at a hospital by two unidentified men. The men immediately flee the scene after dropping her off.

Police later learned that one of those men was the woman’s husband, Nawabzada Mahrab.

They said raids were being carried out to find and arrest the husband after being alerted by the woman’s uncle of his involvement.

Pakistan is considered to be one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

Rights group Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 145th out of 180 countries in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

Since 1992, at least 61 Pakistani journalists have been killed in connection with their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In November, another man was accused of killing his journalist wife, Arooj Iqbal, in the eastern city of Lahore.

Pakistan fares badly on global gender indices. In 2019, it ranked 164 out of 167 countries on the Women, Peace and Security Index, only above Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.