Tehran, YJC. Gunmen have attacked the car of a well-known Pakistani television anchor known for his anti-Taliban views, killing his driver and wounding his bodyguard.
According to police, Raza Rumi was coming back home from the Express Television office in the eastern city of Lahore on Friday, when the gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on his car.
Rumi’s driver Muhammed Mustafa, 25, succumbed to his wounds while the attack also injured a bodyguard. Rumi, who is in his early forties, himself escaped with only minor injuries.
Police chief Chaudhry Shafique described the incident as "a targeted attack,” adding that police found 11 empty bullet casings near the scene.
"God has saved me. I just heard the... bullets when we took a turn near Raja Market and put my head down,” Rumi said while noting that his bodyguard leapt to save him.
"Extremists want no counter narrative in the state that is why they are attacking alternative voices,” he added.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International Pakistan researcher Mustafa Qadri has said that the organization has documented at least three cases of journalists killed in 2014 "as a direct result of their work, with scores of others, like Raza, narrowly escaping.”
Pakistan is ranked as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world.
The growing amount of violence against journalists in Pakistan is attributed to the security situation the country has been facing ever since it joined the so-called war on terror.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pledged to provide secure professional atmosphere for the Pakistani media. the government has announced a decision to form a commission to protect journalists.