October 25, 2002	Friday	Sha’aban 18,1423

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QUETTA, Oct 24: A large number of journalists, workers of various NGOs and activists of citizen action committees staged a protest demonstration against the murder of a young journalist Shahid Soomro in Kandhkot, here on Thursday.

The protesters gathered in front of Quetta Press Club, carrying placards inscribed with slogans demanding arrest of all those who were involved in the killing.

Speaking on the occasion, a veteran journalist and President Citizen Forum, Rasheed Baig, strongly condemned the killing of Shahid Soomro and said the journalist community would not sit idle as it was an attack on the entire newspaper industry.

He demanded that the government should take strong notice of the incident and the murderers of the Sindhi newspaper reporter should be arrested without delay.

He announced that the journalist community would continue its protest till the arrest of all the accused involved in the incident.

The activists of citizen action committees of Mastung, Gwadar, Kachhi, Larkana, Jacobabad and Karachi, including Adam Malik, Zulfiqar Halepoto, Jan Odohono, Dr Sabiha Mughal, Kausar Hussain, Hanifa Javed and Saeeda Shahwani also participated in the protest demonstration.

CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday condemned the brutal murder of Shahid Soomro, a newsman of the Sindhi newspaper, Kawish, in reprisal for his reporting on abuses committed during the recent general elections held on Oct 10.

In a statement, the New York-based CPJ called upon President Pervez Musharraf to ensure that his killers were brought to justice.

The committee also stated that Soomro’s colleagues suspected, he had been killed for his reporting about the alleged abuses committed by the Bijarani family members and their supporters during the polls.