June 2011 Peshawar bombings

The June 2011 Peshawar bombings occurred on 12 June 2011 in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1] At least 34 people were killed, and more than 90 were injured, when two bombs exploded in a market around midnight.[2] The first bomb went off around 11:50 p.m. local time in Khyber market area, which is a commercial and residential area, and injured 3 people. After a crowd gathered in the area, a teen-aged suicide bomber on a motorcycle set off a second explosion, killing many people on the spot.[3] About 10 kilograms (22 lb) of explosives were used in the second blast according to officials.[4] Police and rescue teams soon reached the spot and cordoned the area.[5]

June 2011 Peshawar bombings
Islamabad
Karachi
Peshawar
June 2011 Peshawar bombings (Pakistan)
Date12 June 2011
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths34+[1]
Injured100+[1]
PerpetratorsUnknown

Death of two journalists

Two journalists, Asfandyar Abid Naveed (ca. 1976 – 11 June 2011), also reported as Asfandyar Khan, a career journalist working for Akhbar-e-Khyber,[6][7] and Shafiullah Khan (ca. 1983 – 17 June 2011), of The News, were killed as a result of covering the double suicide bombing in Peshawar.[8][9][10][11] Naveed died at the scene from the second blast. His death in the attack prompted calls among Pakistan's professional journalism organisations for more attention to be placed on the safety of journalists and for more action by police.[7][11]

Shafiullah Khan was a trainee reporter for the daily The News (Pakistan).[9][12] He was from Palangzai village, North Waziristan. Khan had recently completed a master's degree in journalism from Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan. He had been working as a trainee for one week in Peshawar bureau of The News before the deadly bombings, according to the Khyber Union of Journalists, an affiliate of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). Khan received third degree burns after the second blast was set off after military and media arrived. Khan was transferred to the Khyber Teaching Hospital's (KTH) burn unit. Doctors said he also received metal shrapnel in his right shoulder. A week later, 17 June 2011, Khan died in the burn treatment center in Wah Cantonment, a military center east of Islamabad.[9]

Just one month before this bombing, journalist Nasrullah Khan Afridi, of the Khyber News Agency, PTV News, Daily Mashriq, had been killed 10 May 2011, in the same Khyber Super Market as the other two journalists.[13][14]

Responsibility

While the Taliban were suspected to have carried out the attack, the Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan denied responsibility and blamed the attack on "foreign agents." "We did not carry out this attack in Peshawar. It is an attempt by foreign secret agencies who are doing it to malign us. We do not target innocent people. Our targets are very clear, we attack security forces, government and people who are siding with it."[5] In Pakistan, references made to 'foreign agencies' are well-circulated conspiracy theories and rumours that point to alleged CIA activities in Pakistan and the perception that covert American agents are carrying out an orchestrated campaign of terrorism in the country to destabilise it.

The Committee to Protect Journalists believe the attacks were politically motivated. The organisation listed both journalists' deaths as a result of a dangerous assignment.[7][11][15][16]

See also

References
  1. "Bombings Kill Dozens in Pakistan". The New York Times. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  2. "Deadly blasts at market in Pakistani city of Peshawar". BBC. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  3. "Twin blasts in Peshawar of Pakistan kill 35, injure over 100". Xinhua News Agency. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  4. Habib, Nasir. "34 killed, 94 injured in twin blasts in Pakistani market". CNN. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  5. "Peshawar Cantt blasts: Taliban deny responsibility, blame 'foreign agencies'". The Express Tribune. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  6. "Asfandyar Abid Naveed". International News Safety Institute. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  7. "Asfandyar Khan (Correction: Asfandyar Abid Naveed)". Committee to Protect Journalists. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  8. "Asfandyar Khan and Shafiullah Khan". International News Safety Institute. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  9. "Shafiullah Khan". Committee to Protect Journalists. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  10. "Alert: Journalist killed, eight others injured in Peshawar blasts". Pakistan Press Foundation / International Freedom of Expression Exchange. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  11. "Young reporter dies from bomb injuries, media hounded throughout country". Reporters Without Borders. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  12. Pakistan Press Foundation (21 June 2011). "Injured Journalist Dies of Blast Wounds". International Freedom of Expression Exchange. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  13. "Senior tribal journalist killed in bomb attack". The News (Pakistan). 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  14. "Nasrullah Khan Afridi". Committee to Protect Journalists. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  15. Reporters Without Borders (2011). "Call for urgent steps to protect journalists after Peshawar suicide bombing". Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  16. International Federation of Journalists. 2011. "IFJ Calls for Safety Education after Journalist Killed in Pakistan Blast." Retrieved 18 September 2011 .
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