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Another Pakistan journalist murdered

I reported on Thursday that Pakistan was the most murderous country for journalists in 2010. On the same day, another Pakistani journalist, Wali Khan Babar, was shot dead in Karachi.

The 28-year-old reporter for Geo News television was shot five times while driving home in his car in what is believed to have been a targeted attack.

"The killing of a prominent reporter from the country's largest news network in the largest city of Pakistan is a disturbing new development," said Cyril Almeida, assistant editor for Pakistan's Dawn Media Group.

"While Pakistani journalists are often under threat, it tends to be... in more remote parts of the country."

Babar's killing appears to have been part of a coordinated action in which at least 19 people were killed.

After the murder, journalists in several Pakistan cities staged protest rallies to demand a judicial investigation.

The killing follows the murder on 5 January of 22-year-old Balochistan reporter, Ilyas Nazar.

Sources: IPI/

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