Pakistani journalist dies after riot
2011-06-16 12:10
Islamabad - A Pakistani journalist died
overnight after being hit in the head by a stone during student riots outside a
press club, his family said on Thursday.
Jahangir Alam Khan Moon, 65, was at the club
in the central city of Multan, 420km from Islamabad when university students
gathered outside, chanting slogans and blocking the road, his cousin Mohsin
Raza said.
Students from the Veterinary Science
department of the Bahauddin Zakariya University were demanding that the
government recognise their degrees.
Pakistani protesters routinely gather outside
press clubs in a bid to maximise media coverage of their demands.
"A motorcycle carrying a patient arrived
and some journalists went to convince the students to let it pass," Raza
told AFP. "A scuffle broke out and the students started pelting stones and
several journalists were wounded."
Moon, a freelance sports correspondent, was
one of those hurt.
"He was hit in the head by a stone. He
went to hospital and received some stitches. When he returned home he went to
his room to change his clothes but he died," said Raza, who is himself a
journalist.
"It was not clear why he died. It could
have been a heart attack."
Police said 39 people were detained on
charges of resorting to violence. Local police chief Amir Zulfiqar promised
action against the culprits.
The death comes just two weeks after Pakistani
journalist Saleem Shahzad was found dead on May 31 outside the capital in a
killing blamed on his coverage of links between rogue navy officials and
Al-Qaeda.
At the time, Reporters Without Borders said
16 journalists had been killed since the start of 2010 in Pakistan, which it
ranks 151st out of 178 countries in its press freedom index.
