Security officer also killed by ‘shots fired from a close range’.

Unknown gunmen shot and killed Shujaat Bukhari, veteran journalist and editor of the Rising Kashmir newspaper in the heart of Srinagar on Thursday evening ahead of Id-ul-Fitr. One of Bukhari’s personal security officers also died in the attack, while another is in a critical condition.

Bukhari was The Hindu's correspondent in Srinagar from 1997 to 2012 and a contributor to the Frontline magazine.

The 50-year-old editor was killed close to his office in Pratap Park, an area where offices of many newspaper are housed.

The attackers fired “from a close range,” the police said. The critically injured Bukhari, hit by bullets in the chest, succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

Jammu and Kashmir DGP S.P Vaid told The Hindu that the police did not have any leads as of now. “He had not complained of any threat to his life. There are no leads; it’s too early to come to a conclusion,” Mr. Vaid said, adding the police did not have any "intelligence input" about threats to his life.

Mr. Bukhari was a popular commentator on national TV channels. His brother, Basharat Bukhari, is Law Minister in Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s government.

Political parties and journalists across the spectrum condemned the killing of senior journalist and editor of Rising Kashmir, Shujaat Bukhari in Srinager on Thursday.

In an emotional response, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said, “Terrorism has hit a new low with Shujaat’s killing. That too, on the eve of Eid. We must unite against forces seeking to undermine our attempts to restore peace. Justice will be done. ”

TV visuals showed her in tears as she recalled her meeting with the journalist just a few days ago. “What can I say. Only a few days ago he had come to meet me,” Ms. Mufti said, struggling to hold back her tears.