Pakistani Journalist Fayaz Zafar arrested

A senior Pakistani journalist Fayaz Zafar has been arrested by the Pakistan local police under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Swat Police Department confirmed the arrest of Fayaz Zafar under the MPO and has been shifted to Swat Jail from the DC office.

According to ARY News, the journalist alleged that he was tortured in the deputy commissioner's office and said that he was arrested for reporting the truth.

Earlier, a day before Pakistan's 76th Independence Day, Jan Mohammad Mahar, a top journalist working for a private Sindhi daily and TV station, was fatally shot on August 13 night outside St. Saviour School on Queens Road, according to Dawn.

According to the area police, the assailants shot several fires at Mahar, who was travelling in his car.

According to the police, the journalist was shot multiple times in the head and close to his eyes. They also stated that he was transferred to a private hospital in an extremely bad condition. While the surgery was taking place, he passed away from his injuries, according to hospital sources.

A motive behind the attack could not be ascertained immediately but police believed that an old enmity might have led to the murder, Dawn reported.

World Sindhi Congress condemned the murder of journalist Jan Mohammed Mahar."WSC strongly condemn the brutal and cowardly murder of journalist Jan Mohammad Mahar in Sukkur, #Sindh, #Pakistan. This tragic incident not only reflects a grave violation of freedom of the press but also serves as a stark reminder of the dangers journalists face in their pursuit of truth and information, World Sindhi Congress wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

WSC also called upon the authorities in Pakistan to take immediate and effective actions to apprehend the culprits responsible for this heinous crime."It is imperative that a thorough and transparent investigation be conducted to bring the perpetrators to justice," WSC said.

A large number of media personnel gathered at the hospital soon after learning about the incident. They and the entire local journalist community were shocked to know about the demise of Mahar, Dawn reported.

This is only the latest in a long line of atrocities committed against the people of Sindh in Pakistan. In the recent past, the minority community of Sukkur in Pakistan's Sindh have faced multiple such attacks.