CJP demands fair investigation in Pak scribe's killing

New York, Sep 16 (UNI) The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called upon Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough and timely investigation in journalist Maqbool Hussain Sail's killing.

Two masked gunmen on a motorcycle shot Sail late Thursday in Dera Ismail Khan, 280 km southwest of Islamabad, according to the news reports.

Sail, 32, died on his way to hospital. CPJ is investigating to determine whether Sail's murder was related to his work.

Police are investigating the case, but have made no arrests.

Sail, who worked for the Pakistani Online News Network, was on his way to interview Nawab Azek, leader of the Pakistan People's Party at the Dera Ismail Khan Press Club.

''We call on the police to reveal all the facts about Sail's death. We know from past experience that the government seldom investigates or reports on the deaths of journalists,'' CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said yesterday, adding too many murders of journalists have gone unpunished in Pakistan.

During a CPJ mission to Pakistan in July, officials promised to review investigative records and reveal government information on the Pakistani journalists' killings.

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