PAKISTAN: Bomb Blasts Add to Journalists' Risks

By Beena Sarwar

KARACHI, Oct 26 (IPS) - When TV cameraman Arif Khan added to the list of over 140 people who died in the bombings that targeted the welcome procession for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, on Oct. 18, it highlighted the many risks that journalists in Pakistan now face.

Bhutto took special notice of Khan in her press conference the following day, while paying homage to the 'shuhada' (martyrs) and expressing sympathy for their families: "I did see the cameraman who lost his life. He was on the police van next to us, and I could see that he was very active."

Enthusiasm for his work and a propensity for being near the centre of activity cost Khan his life, as colleagues noted at a condolence meeting at the Karachi Press Club last week. "Arif Khan has become a symbol for the freedom of expression, for which he gave his life," observed Javed Chowdhry, secretary general of the Karachi Union of Journalists.

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