Protesters march in Karachi against killing of journalists in Gaza

KARACHI: Hundreds of journalists marched in Karachi on Wednesday to express solidarity with their Middle Eastern colleagues who have been killed in Gaza Strip following Israel’s ruthless bombing of civilian targets since October 7.  

At least 40 journalists were among the Palestinian death toll since the war began on October 7 — with more than 10,500 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,400 deaths in Israel.

According to a report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today, eight journalists have been injured, three are reported missing and nine have been arrested.

“The Israel-Gaza war has become the deadliest four-week period for journalists covering conflict since CPJ began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992,” it added.

Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza said that at least 10,569 Palestinians people in the besieged enclave have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The figure includes 4,324 children.

The Gaza Solidarity March was organized by several journalist bodies in Karachi. Hundreds of men, women and children angrily chanted slogans and held placards as they walked from the Karachi Press Club to the Sindh Governor House in the metropolis.

To express solidary with their Middle Eastern colleagues, hundreds of journalists and members of civil society families marched from Karachi Press Club (KPC) to the Sindh Governor House, chanting slogans and waving Palestinian flags.

The demonstrators were also carrying banners and placards engraved with slogans such as “Stop targeting journalists,” “You can’t hide the truth by killing journalists,” and “Hold Israel accountable for journalists’ killing in Gaza”.

Addressing the demonstrators, KPC President Saeed Sarbazi held Israel and United States (US) “equally responsible” for the deaths of journalists in Gaza.

“It’s the US and some so-called Muslim countries, whose criminal silence has emboldened Israel to kill unarmed Palestinians,” Sarbazi said.

Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, has consistently called for an independent homeland for the people of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders with Al Quds Al Sharif/Jerusalem as its capital.