KARACHI: Larkana police claimed to have arrested a man declared absconder and proclaimed offender in a case pertaining to the murder of journalist Zakir Hussain Dahar, aka Shan Dahar, in Daro Phatak on Thursday.

Suspect Irfan Brohi’s arrest is expected to reopen the investigation into Dahar’s case over 12 years after he was shot dead in Badah on January 1, 2014.

The arrest comes weeks after Safe Journalism, working under Free Press Unlimited’s A Safer World for the Truth initiative, launched an investigative report titled Truth Denied: How Pakistani Authorities Built an Unsolvable Case, which focuses on failings in the Dahar murder investigation.

The report documents significant procedural flaws, omissions and inconsistencies in the official police investigation carried out at the time of Dahar’s murder, said a press release issued here on Thursday.

At the report launch, Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani had provided assurances on behalf of the chief minister that the government would work to help resolve the case. Brohi’s arrest represents a first step in fulfilling that commitment.

Dahar, a senior journalist, was shot dead at a local health clinic in Badah, where he was reportedly investigating a story about the illegal resale of donated medicines.

Despite charges being filed under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, authorities dropped the murder charge without explanation, reclassifying the death as an accidental discharge from celebratory New Year’s gunfire.

The one suspect who was prosecuted, Nasrullah Tunio, was acquitted in 2018 due to lack of evidence. Brohi, along with his brother Aamir, was declared an absconder and remained on the run until now.

Welcoming the arrest, Safe Journalism stresses the need to follow it with a thorough, independent and impartial reinvestigation as well as the apprehension of the second absconding accused, Aamir Brohi.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2026