Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday decided to constitute a three-member judicial commission to investigate the gun attack on journalist Hamid Mir in Karachi in which the prominent anchor of a private television channel was injured.
A formal request would be sent by the PM House to the Chief Justice to nominate three members of the commission.
The government also announced a reward of Rs10 million for any information leading to the arrest of the attackers.
The attack triggered angry reaction by journalists who carried out protest rallies in major cities to push the government to provide security to media men.
Mir, the host of the popular Capital Talk show on Geo TV, was treated at a city hospital, where doctors described his condition as critical but out of danger.
Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid met with Mir at the hospital. The minister reportedly said that federal government would extend all cooperation to Sindh’s government probe.
He reportedly said that those trying to impose their agendas at gunpoint would nnt be allowed to succeed.
The attack has been widely denounced in the country by government and political leaders as well as human rights and professional bodies as an assault on media freedom.
International media organisations have also condemned the attack.
The military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) called for an urgent independent probe into the incident, while reacting to allegations by Mir’s relatives and the channel pointing fingers at the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.
“Raising allegations against ISI or its head without any basis is highly regrettable,” said ISPR chief Major General Asim Bajwa.
Mir is seen as a critic of Pakistan’s powerful security institutions including the army and the ISI.
Geo TV reported that Mir had informed the government and close friends that ISI and its chief would be responsible for any attempt on his life.
A spokesman for Pakistani military said the institution was open to allowing an inquiry.
Global media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report released in February that Pakistan is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists.
— With additional inputs from agencies
