Media

Pakistan authorities have arrested a journalist known for his criticism of the government.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said it arrested journalist Rizwan Razi at his residence in the city of Lahore on February 9.

The FIA, Pakistan's law-enforcement agency, said Razi was arrested on a charge of violating the country's cybercrime law.

Razi, who worked for private Din TV, was being investigated for "defamatory and obnoxious" comments about the judiciary, government, and intelligence services, according to FIA.

Razi's son, Osama, told Reuters and AP that unknown men attacked and then dragged his father into a car.

In a separate case, Ammar Ali Jan, an academic also based in Lahore, was arrested over his involvement in a protest at the death of Arman Loni, a regional leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). He was later released on bail.

A message on Ammar's Facebook page on February 9 said he was taken at 4 a.m. "I am a law-abiding citizen and will not be deterred in the fight for justice," it said.

Police official Azhar Naveed confirmed the brief detention and bail, which followed other arrests over the protests earlier this week. He said Ammar was charged with taking part in a rally, blocking a road and making "anti-state" speeches.

Pakistani journalists say they are facing unprecedented pressure from the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the country's all-powerful army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, which have an oversized role in domestic and foreign affairs.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

Two journalists have been shot and killed after unidentified gunmen stormed a radio station in northeastern Afghanistan, their colleagues and officials say, the latest deadly attack on reporters in the war-torn country.

Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah Rahmani, both in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar Province.

Both Hussaini and police said they had no idea of the motive for the February 5 attack.

Nobody has yet claimed responsibility.

Provincial police chief Rashid Bashir said that an investigation was under way.

"Two unidentified gunmen entered the radio station's office at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday. They opened fire on two reporters who were behind their mics during a live program," Bashir said.

It was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year.

On January 5, journalist Javid Noori was shot dead in his native province of Farah in Afghanistan's west.

A Taliban spokesman said the militant group killed Noori because he worked for the government.

The Taliban and other Islamist groups have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year for Afghanistan's media, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The Paris-based media watchdog urged the police to "conduct a thorough investigation" in order to identify the latest attack's perpetrators and instigators, Reza Moini, the head of RSF's Iran-Afghanistan desk, said in a statement.

Radio Hamsada employs 11 people, including seven women, and has been broadcasting from 6 a.m. to midnight since 2007, according to RSF.

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International described the attack as a "horrific crime" and urged the authorities to ensure protection for journalists so they could work "freely and without fear."

In a statement, Amnesty South Asia researcher Zaman Sultani said the attack "once again highlights the risks journalists continue to face in Afghanistan for just doing their job."

The U.S. ambassador to Kabul, John Bass, said he was "saddened and angered" by the killings.

"It is time to #EndImpunity for crimes against journalists. #PressFreedom," he tweeted.

Afghanistan is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP