Pakistan’s Hasnain Shah Murdered in Broad Daylight, Exposing Deep Impunity Crisis

June 26, 2025 – Pakistan –

Pakistani crime reporter Hasnain Shah was gunned down in broad daylight outside the Lahore Press Club, a location considered a symbolic sanctuary for journalists. Shah, a senior journalist for Capital TV and a well-known figure in media circles, was waiting in his car when two unidentified men on a motorcycle shot him at least seven times before fleeing the scene. The murder occurred in front of multiple witnesses and nearby security personnel, yet the assailants escaped unhindered.

Shah’s killing sparked outrage among journalists, press freedom organizations, and civil society groups. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the killing and called for swift accountability. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay also denounced the attack, urging Pakistani authorities to ensure a full and transparent investigation. The brutal nature of the assassination—carried out in public near a press institution—highlighted the extent to which impunity emboldens attacks on journalists in Pakistan.

Following initial investigations, Lahore police arrested four suspects, including a prominent jeweler who allegedly financed the hit over a personal financial dispute with Shah. Authorities said the mastermind paid 500,000 Pakistani rupees (roughly $2,800) to hire the hitmen. While the arrests marked a rare breakthrough in journalist murder cases in Pakistan, press freedom advocates stressed that prosecution and conviction would be the real test of justice.

Pakistan ranks among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, consistently appearing on CPJ’s Global Impunity Index. In many cases, killers of journalists are never held accountable, and victims’ families receive no closure. The murder of Hasnain Shah underscored this climate of fear and emphasized how even high-profile journalists are vulnerable to violence.

Though Shah’s killers were apprehended, the case serves as a stark reminder that without structural reforms and stronger protections for journalists, the cycle of violence and impunity will persist. As Shah’s colleagues and loved ones continue to call for justice, his assassination remains a grim symbol of the threats facing Pakistan’s press and the urgent need for systemic change.

Reference – 

https://www.daily-sun.com/post/601781/budget2025-2026

https://www.dawn.com/news/1672218

Pakistani journalist Hasnain Shah shot and killed outside Lahore Press Club