File photo of Pakistani TV journalist Hamid Mir
Karachi:
Senior Pakistani TV journalist Hamid Mir, who faced threats from multiple quarters here including the Taliban, was today shot at in Karachi by four unidentified gunmen who waylaid his vehicle near a bridge on way to his office.
Mir, 47, sustained three bullet injuries on lower part of his body after he was shot at near Natha Khan bridge soon after he left the Karachi airport for his office. He had just landed in Karachi and was on his way to the studios of Geo TV.
He was rushed to hospital where he was operated upon for over nearly three hours. Doctors said Mir had lost a lot of blood and hence the operation took much longer time than expected.
Karachi police chief Shahid Hayat said Mir was shot thrice, one bullet piercing his intestine while the other two wounded his leg and pelvic area. He is "out of danger", he said.
Geo TV reported that Mir, who has security guards with him, called up office to inform them of the attack on him around 5:00 pm.
According to the driver, as the car slowed down near the flyover, a gunman who was standing nearby opened fire. The driver rushed to the hospital with the bleeding Mir.
Geo News reported the gunman climbed onto a motorbike and followed the car firing several shots. It said that a car with two other attackers also followed them.
Geo News Islamabad bureau chief Rana Jawad said Mir told him after being attacked that the gunmen were chasing him and continued to fire at the car.
A popular news anchor, terrorism expert and security analyst, Mir currently hosts political talk show Capital Talk on Geo TV. He was the first journalist to interview Osama bin Laden after 9/11.
Mir has been critical of Pakistan's military and the intelligence agencies suspecting their pro-active role in the disappearance of a large number of people in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan.
Mir's brother Amir accused "elements in the ISI" of orchestrating the attack on him.
Amir, a leading investigative journalist, told Geo TV that Mir had told him two weeks back that if anything happens to him then "elements in the ISI and its chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam should be blamed".
Mir, 47, sustained three bullet injuries on lower part of his body after he was shot at near Natha Khan bridge soon after he left the Karachi airport for his office. He had just landed in Karachi and was on his way to the studios of Geo TV.
He was rushed to hospital where he was operated upon for over nearly three hours. Doctors said Mir had lost a lot of blood and hence the operation took much longer time than expected.
Karachi police chief Shahid Hayat said Mir was shot thrice, one bullet piercing his intestine while the other two wounded his leg and pelvic area. He is "out of danger", he said.
Geo TV reported that Mir, who has security guards with him, called up office to inform them of the attack on him around 5:00 pm.
According to the driver, as the car slowed down near the flyover, a gunman who was standing nearby opened fire. The driver rushed to the hospital with the bleeding Mir.
Geo News reported the gunman climbed onto a motorbike and followed the car firing several shots. It said that a car with two other attackers also followed them.
Geo News Islamabad bureau chief Rana Jawad said Mir told him after being attacked that the gunmen were chasing him and continued to fire at the car.
A popular news anchor, terrorism expert and security analyst, Mir currently hosts political talk show Capital Talk on Geo TV. He was the first journalist to interview Osama bin Laden after 9/11.
Mir has been critical of Pakistan's military and the intelligence agencies suspecting their pro-active role in the disappearance of a large number of people in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan.
Mir's brother Amir accused "elements in the ISI" of orchestrating the attack on him.
Amir, a leading investigative journalist, told Geo TV that Mir had told him two weeks back that if anything happens to him then "elements in the ISI and its chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam should be blamed".
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