12 years on, journalist Shan Dahar’s killers roam free, new report by CEJ lays bare investigative, procedural flaws
IBA faculty member and senior journalist Shahzeb Ahmed speaks at the screening of a documentary highlighting the legal lacunae in the murder of journalist Zakir Hussain Dahar, during an event at CEJ-IBA on Wednesday. Photo: Express
On January 1, 2014, journalist Zakir Hussain Dahar, known as Shan Dahar, was hit with a gunshot to his back in the town of Badah, Larkana district in Sindh. He had been leaning against the counter of a small medical store, caught up in a dispute between patients of a nearby Basic Health Centre (BHC) and the pharmacist, a little past midnight, when the bullet struck his upper back.
Dahar, then bureau chief at AbbTak News, happened to be in the narrow lane that night because he had been investigating the disruption in supply of medicines from a non-governmental organisation marked free-of-charge. Twelve years and blatant procedural irregularities later, police maintain Dahar’s killing was an accident, caused by a stray bullet fired from 60 metres away, yet another casualty of unabated celebratory aerial firing on New Year’s Eve.
Before he breathed his last at Chandka Medical College and Hospital, Dahar accused the influential Zehri tribe of putting a target on his back. Amir Zehri, the prime accused in the case, was declared an absconder in the case, which was not probed as a “criminal” one for a good nine hours after the murder. His blood-ridden clothes strewn on the floor, discarded by the police, and a small handycam on his person at the time of death, were retrieved by his sister.
The killing happened near Badah Press Club. Journalists were outraged.
A report titled Truth Denied: How Pakistani Authorities Built an Unsolvable Case, released by Safe Journalism at the Centre of Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) at IBA Karachi on Wednesday—under a global initiative led by Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF)— sheds light on the findings in the case thus far. A documentary based on the report’s findings was screened at the university as well.
The police never recorded the statements of medical storekeeper Zulfikar Kokar and BHC watchman Munna Qadir, notes senior investigative reporter Adil Jawad. Instead, Sindh Police submitted 15 to 20 “identical diaries (accounts)” of different investigative officers when the police’s performance was questioned. Despite detaining both individuals at the time, he adds.
“Clothing and bullet entry marks are crucial forensic evidence [when conducting a postmortem]. Then the full track of the bullet, and if there’s no exit, then which part of the body did it hit?” asks Dr Summaiya Syed Tariq, Karachi Police Surgeon, in the documentary. She notes that the evidence presented by the medico-legal officers and the police before the courts are of equal importance, when ensuring justice.
CEJ’s report, authored by, Jules Swinkles, Jasmijin de Zeeuw, Shahzeb Ahmed, Jos Bartman, and Adil Jawad Khan, points out inconsistencies in the official investigative authorities’ version of events, medico-legal proceedural flaws, and questions Dahar’s murder’s status as a “cold case”. The facts of the case do not add up. Nor does the investigation thus far.
The case has been dormant for over seven years and two of the key accused in the case roam freely in the town, unobstructed by police, notes CPJ. Since 1992, as many as 98 Pakistani journalists’ killings remain “unresolved”.
Speaking at the launch, IBA faculty and senior journalist Shahzeb Ahmed noted that who we identify as a journalist needs to be reassessed, when we raise our voices against violence against journalism and obstructions to credible reporting.
“The first question is often: is he even a journalist? In our eyes, it is anyone who is transmitting information. We can’t discriminate against someone sitting in a remote area like Barkhan, just because they never had the opportunity to join the mainstream media,” said Ahmed.
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The report’s findings support what Dahar’s sisters and colleagues have been saying all along — Sindh Police was complacent and possibly wilfully negligent, noted CEJ in an accompanying press release later that day.
Earlier at the launch, panellist Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed observed that Pakistan has a low conviction rate of approximately 16%. According to him, the effective rate should be around 70–80%, showing that the country takes investigations seriously, but also has space to acquit the innocent.
“At every stage, we have faced local pressures, police shortcomings and judicial obstacles,” said the human rights lawyer, who has worked on such cases.
“We as a community are also guilty of forgetting our colleagues who have died in the line of duty. Our first duty is that we must not forget them. If we don’t speak up for them, who will?” seconded fellow panelist and CEJ Director Shahzeb Jillani.
Meanwhile, in his keynote address at the launch, Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani appreciated the research behind the report. “If there are flaws in police investigations, we must identify them clearly. Only then can we begin to fix what’s broken.”
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Except, in the documentary released by FPU, the family notes that the Sindh government failed to deliver on its promises of not only ensuring justice but financially supporting Dahar’s two daughters’ education.
In May 2014, based on the findings of an investigatory committee established by the medical superintendent of Chandka Medical College and Hospital, then Sindh chief secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiana suspended Dr Abdul Ghaffar Kandhro, then doctor in-charge of the Basic Health Center in Badah, where the family said Dahar was not given immediate medical attention. Then senior medical officer Dr Ali Gohar Chandio at Chandka hospital in Larkana was also suspended.
At the Basic Health Centre, the doctors had appeared unaware and unable to identify, locate, or treat the gunshot wound. Despite apparent indication on blood-stained and torn shirt, which was removed from Dahar’s person after he was shot, recalls his sister Fauzia Dahar.
Agreeing to have the postmortem done was not an easy decision for Dahar’s family. But it was one they made because it was blatantly apparent to anyone who knew Dahar that this was not an accidental fire. Not a mere New Year’s Eve casualty. He had voiced concerns about threats to his life around the time of his killing.
Raniya Batool, Dahar’s daughter, says that while she had once wanted to be a journalist like her father, the events that followed since his killing and the apparent probe convinced her to be a lawyer instead.
According to CPJ, the unsolved murder of Dahar was a prime example of Pakistan’s systemic failure to investigate crimes against journalists. Their 18-month investigation used video and photographic evidence to prove the official narrative was “highly improbable” and uncovered that police used the case to extort individuals and coerce witnesses into giving false information.
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The opening statements at IBA were followed by a video tribute to journalists who have been murdered in Pakistan since 1992, including Daniel Pearl, Saleem Shehzad, and Nasrullah Gadani.
The report concluded that the authorities had ignored a clear motive — Dahar’s investigation into the illegal reselling of donated medications. Despite filming the scheme just before he was shot and previously accusing the clinic’s head — who was later suspended for medical negligence leading to Dahar’s death — no official investigation into the doctor’s involvement was conducted.
“If we look at Shan Dahar’s case, we can see how that case was never resolved. Lack of evidence isn’t the problem, and as we were saying earlier (in the panel discussion after the screening), this case can still be resolved. We’re going to work with government authorities as well. The families of these journalists deserve closure,” noted Safe Journalism Co-Founder Mehmal Sarfraz.
