Masked men attack Pakistani daily Jang's editor

An editor of Pakistan's 'Jang' daily has been attacked by arms-wielding masked men and beaten up near his house in Multan.

Resident Editor of 'Jang' Zafar Aheer was attacked by masked men near Western Ford Colony in Multan yesterday, Geo News reported.

Aheer was attacked when he was about to reach his home after work. He told Geo News that the attackers stopped his car near his residence and started beating him.

"The attackers beat me a lot, tore my cloths and snatched my mobile phone," he said.

More than six attackers were involved in the incident and they came on two motorbikes and a car, an eyewitness said.

The eyewitness said he rushed outside after hearing noises but an armed man pointed a gun to him and asked him to return.

"The armed man said you have nothing to do with this, go away," he said.

The attackers fired bullets from their Kalashnikov rifles in front of Aheer's car before fleeing the site.

Meanwhile, the police said it was premature to say anything about the incident and the investigation into the incident was on.

According to Aheer, the attackers conversing with each other said to shoot him on the legs.

In April, Pakistan's leading news anchor who works for Geo TV Hamid Mir narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.

Mir later said he faced threats from both non-state and state actors including the powerful spy agency ISI.

Following the attack on Mir, Jang group had said, "We also want to bring it on the record that the ISI has been continuously and strongly complaining to our senior editors against some of our senior journalists, particularly against Hamid Mir. We will prove this and many other things at the proper time."

The licences of three television channels of the Geo TV network were suspended in May by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for leveling allegations against ISI.

The Jang group-owned Geo TV network then last week apologised to Pakistan Army, the powerful spy agency ISI and its chief for leveling allegations against them over an assassination bid on Mir.