A suicide bombing that killed three people and wounded 17 outside a press club in the northwestern city of Peshawar has underscored the danger to journalists trying to cover Pakistan's Taliban-led insurgency, AP reported.
Militants have threatened, attacked and killed journalists in an attempt to prevent reporting they deem critical of the Taliban, and journalists also say they face pressure from government operatives trying to influence news coverage.
The combination has made Pakistan one of the most dangerous environments to work, rivaling conflict zones like Iraq and Somalia, according to media watchdogs. Tuesday's attack, one of the most serious yet against journalists in the country, drove that point home.
A policeman tried to search the suicide bomber as he approached the press club's gate, but the man resisted and was able to trigger his explosives, said the city's police chief, Liaquat Ali Khan. The dead included the officer and an accountant who worked for the press club, authorities said.
A woman who was at the site died of cardiac arrest caused by the shock of the bombing, said Dr. Sahib Gul at a hospital in Peshawar where casualties were taken. Seventeen other people were wounded, including one photographer slightly injured by flying shrapnel. Many of the wounded were on a bus that was passing the press club, Gul said.
"Journalists have played a vital role in our war by exposing the terrorists, so they are on the target list too like mosques, bazaars and security institutions," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for the North West Frontier Province, of which Peshawar is the capital.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders condemned the attack, saying "threats against the Pakistani media and press clubs are nothing new but it is outrageous that this press freedom sanctuary should be targeted in this fashion."
Suicide bombing kills three at NW Pakistan press club
