A television reporter was killed in an explosion near his car in Balochistan's Hub area, bordering Karachi, on Sunday night, police said.

Shahid Zehri, 35, who was associated with Metro 1 News, was travelling in a car in Hub when he was attacked reportedly with a homemade grenade, Eidgah Station House Officer Nadeem Haider said.

Zehri, who suffered critical injuries, and another injured companion were initially taken to Hub Civil Hospital and subsequently brought to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, where Zehri was pronounced dead.

CCTV footage of the incident seen by Dawn.com showed an explosion took place on the roadside near Zehri's moving car as soon as it made a U-turn on a busy road. The nature of the bomb could not be confirmed immediately.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

In February, the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ (CPNE) Media Freedom Report 2020 had revealed that at least 10 journalists were murdered and several others threatened, kidnapped, tortured and arrested in Pakistan on trumped-up charges while discharging their professional responsibilities in 2020 alone.

No action has so far been taken against those responsible for torturing and killing journalists and it seems that such persons enjoy impunity. “It is a matter of grave concern that the legal system of the country has become useless in protecting and providing justice to journalists,” said the report.