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Global Free Speech

Press freedom coalition welcomes arrest in Shan Dahar murder, urges Pakistani authorities to order transparent reinvestigation

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Press freedom coalition welcomes arrest in Shan Dahar murder, urges Pakistani authorities to order transparent reinvestigation

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New York, April 9, 2026—Press freedom organizations Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcome the recent arrest of Irfan Brohi, a suspect in the 2014 murder of Pakistani journalist Zakir Hussain Dahar and call on authorities in Pakistan’s Sindh province to immediately appoint a senior police officer to lead a transparent reinvestigation into the killing, with local civil society group Safe Journalism serving as an independent monitoring body.  

Dahar, also known as Shan Dahar, was a senior journalist with Abb Takk Television who was shot on January 1, 2014, in Larkana district of Sindh province. At the time of his death, he was reportedly investigating the illegal resale of donated medicines. For over a decade, the case has been marred by procedural flaws, including attempts by local authorities to dismiss the targeted killing as the result of accidental gunfire from New Year’s celebrations. The sole suspect prosecuted in the case was acquitted in 2018. Two other suspects, Brohi and his brother Aamir, were declared absconders and evaded justice for over a decade.

Brohi’s arrest is a direct result of the evidence documented in the report, Truth Denied: How Pakistani Authorities Built an Unsolvable Case, published under A Safer World for the Truth — a joint initiative by FPU, CPJ, and RSF — which highlighted serious omissions and inconsistencies in the original police investigation. Safe Journalism was the coalition’s local partner in the investigation.

Brohi has been released on bail since his arrest on April 2, in line with earlier decisions involving other suspects. This underscores longstanding structural weaknesses in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

The coalition emphasizes that without a credible reinvestigation under independent oversight, this arrest risks becoming another incomplete step in a case long marked by impunity. They urge Sindh province’s chief minister, home minister, and inspector general of police to ensure that the reinvestigation proceeds transparently and that all those responsible are held to account.

The coalition will continue to monitor developments closely and engage with relevant authorities to support efforts toward justice for Shan Dahar.

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