CHARSADDA, Jan 17: Mukaram Khan Atif, a journalist from Mohmand Agency, was gunned down in a mosque in Shabqadar on Tuesday.

According to police, he was offering Maghrib prayer when two men entered the mosque in Pahlawan Gilla and opened fire on him. He suffered head injuries and was taken to a local hospital where he died. The prayer leader, Nasrominallah, was also injured and the attackers escaped.

Mr Atif, 40, worked for Dunya TV and Radio Dewa, the Pashto channel of the Voice of America. He hailed from Ghazi Beg area of Mohmand but shifted to Pahlawan Qilla in Charsadda district because of poor security situation in his area.

Family sources said he had no enmity but had received threats from unknown people.

AFP adds: Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the militia head killed Atif because he was “working for the Pakistani military and the United States”.

“Many other journalists are also now a target.”