Journalist shot dead in northwest Pakistan

A journalist of a TV news channel was shot dead by gunmen in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan, police said today.
Ayub Khan Khattak was shot dead by the assailants while he was stepping out of his house in Karak district yesterday.
Witnesses said two attackers, who were on a motorcycle, were waiting outside the journalist's residence. As he appeared, one of them opened fire with a 30-bore pistol and killed Khattak.
The gunmen fled after the attack. Khattak's body was taken to a nearby hospital for an autopsy.
The motive behind the killing could not immediately be ascertained. Khattak's family said they had no enmity with anyone.

Khattak was associated with Geo News, one of Pakistan's most popular news channels. The Karak Union of Journalists condemned the murder and demanded the arrest of his murderers.
The union said it would launch a protest if the killers are not arrested.
Pakistan is considered one of the deadliest countries for journalists and dozens of reporters have died in the country's northwest since 2001. About 10 journalists were killed across the country last year.