Journalists Killed in 2003 - Motive Confirmed: Fazal Wahab

Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date January 2004 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Killed in 2003 - Motive Confirmed: Fazal Wahab, January 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4e64958ec.html [accessed 20 September 2020] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

freelance

January 21, 2003, in Mingora, Pakistan

Wahab, a freelance writer, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen while he was sitting in a roadside shop in Manglawar Bazaar, near the resort town of Mingora in northwestern Pakistan. The shopkeeper and his young assistant also died in the attack.

Wahab, who lived in Mingora, had published several books in Urdu and in Pashto – the language spoken in the border region of Pakistan and parts of neighboring Afghanistan – that criticized local religious leaders and Islamic militant organizations.

Local journalists and human rights activists told CPJ that Wahab had been receiving threats for years in response to his writings. Although they do not know who is responsible for his murder, his colleagues believe that he was targeted for his work.

Among Wahab's most controversial works was a book titled Mullah Ka Kirdar (The Mullah's Role), which analyzed the Islamic clergy's involvement in politics. He had also recently completed a manuscript about Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

During the last decade, a militant group known as Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) has gained strength in Mingora and the surrounding Malakand Region. Wahab's writings and outspoken opposition to radical and militant strains of Islam made him particularly vulnerable to attack.

Medium: Print Job: Columnist / Commentator, Print Reporter Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Type of Death: Murder Suspected Source of Fire: Political Group Impunity: Yes Taken Captive: No Tortured: No Threatened: Yes

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