Assailants open fire on private news channel’s van
The Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) van of Samaa television, a private news channel in Pakistan, was attacked by armed men on Sunday 20 September 2015. The incident occurred in Karachi, the largest city and the country’s media center.
The attackers who were on a motorcycle fired five to six straight shots at the DSNG van. Police and paramilitary rangers arrived at the scene and collected evidence from the site where empty bullet shells were recovered.
The van’s rear windscreen was damaged and a tyre was also hit. Fortunately, cameraman Kamran Uddin and the driver Saleem were not hurt.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Central Muqadas Haider said there were no CCTV cameras installed nearby that could capture any footage of the attack.
Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Khan Sial directed Inspector General Sindh Police Ghulam Hyder Jamali and Additional Inspector General Karachi to submit a report on the incident and called for the immediate arrest of the culprits.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Karachi Union of Journalists, Karachi Press Club and other unions of journalists held demonstrations on 21 September in various Pakistani cities to protest the attack.
This is the third attack on the media just in the city of Karachi in September. During the first attack on the Geo News DSNG van on 8 September, a technical engineer was killed and a driver injured. In the second attack, on 9 September, unknown armed men killed senior journalist Aftab Alam in Northern Karachi.