Hamid Mir is a senior journalist and anchor who hosts a popular talk show on local TV news channel, Geo News. —File Photo

ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani journalist and TV anchor escaped a bid on his life Monday when the bomb disposal squad defused a bomb planted under his car in Islamabad, police and his channel said.

Hamid Mir, a senior Geo TV anchor was returning to his house in the capital and the bomb was apparently planted when he stopped at a market, Geo News reported.

The explosive device in a metal box was found stuck under the front passenger seat of Hamid Mir’s car, city police chief Bani Amin said.

The bomb disposal squad was immediately called, who successfully defused the bomb containing half a kilogram of explosive material, Geo News reported.

“It was in a tin box, there was half a kilo of explosives fitted with detonator,” Amin told Geo News.

Mir was criticised by the Pakistani Taliban last month in the wake of the shooting of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai.

Intelligence officials said last month that an intercepted Taliban message suggested suicide bombers had been assigned to attack journalists, with Geo at the top of the list of targets because of their coverage of the Malala attack.

“It’s a message to me as well as Geo and the journalist community in Pakistan,” Mir told the television channel. “They want to stop us from speaking the truth but I want to tell them that we will not be deterred.”

Pakistan is ranked by rights groups and watchdogs as among one of the world most dangerous places for journalists and reporters. Over 90 journalists have been killed in the country since 2000, according to a recent report.

 

Opinion

Editorial

Dangerous times
Updated 14 Feb, 2025

Dangerous times

Pakistan accounted for six journalist killings in 2024, of which three were deliberately murdered, according to the CPJ.
Difficult target
14 Feb, 2025

Difficult target

A ONE-two punch delivered by an unforeseen, sharp dip in inflation and an extremely slim base of taxpayers is...
Amazing show
14 Feb, 2025

Amazing show

PAKISTAN’S ability to turn it up at the flick of a switch remains uninhibited. The latest show came in...
Trump’s folly
Updated 13 Feb, 2025

Trump’s folly

This latest pronouncement only reinforces the fears of those who see the plan as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing.
Corruption ranking
13 Feb, 2025

Corruption ranking

IT comes as little surprise. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2024, unveiled on...
Support from remittances
13 Feb, 2025

Support from remittances

EVEN though workers’ remittances dipped, albeit negligibly, in January on a month-over-month basis, the earnings...