Nasrullah Gadani

Last updated

Nasrullah Gadani
نصراللہ گڈانی
Born1984
Mirpur Mathelo, Sindh, Pakistan
Died24 May 2024(2024-05-24) (aged 40)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Cause of deathAssassination
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • Social Media Activist
Employer Daily Awami Awaz
Known forActivism against feudal hegemony in Sindh. [1]

Nasrullah Gadani, was a Pakistani journalist and social media activist, renowned for his work in Sindhi language. He fervently opposed the feudal lords of Sindh, voicing his activism both through print and digital media. In May 2024, he was shot dead by unknown assailants. [2]

Contents

Early life

Nasrullah Gadani was born in the village of Qabool Gadani near Mirpur Mathelo in the Sindh province of Pakistan. He belonged to a poor family and only got basic education. [3]

Career

Gadani began his journalistic career with the Sindhi language newspaper, Awami Awaz, with which he remain associated until his death. He later used to go 'live' on YouTube in a form of spot reporting. He campaigned for access to education, end of feudal hegemony, and environmental conservation. [3] He was arrested in May 2023 for exposing the corruption of a local judge before being subsequently released at the intervention of a regional organisation working for the safety of journalists. [4]

"Bhotar, my foot"

In the aftermath of the 2022 Pakistan floods, Gadani rode his motorbike through the inundated streets of his hometown, asserting in his live broadcast, "O people of the town, you can see the faces of your elected assembly members in these dirty and disease-borne waters." Instead of a registration plate on the back of his motorcycle, he inscribed the words "Bhotar My Foot" (Sindhi, "Masters, my foot"). [3] The slogan became a top trend on Sindhi social media. [2]

Lund incident

One of his last exposes was doing a live broadcast on the protocol given to Shahbaz Lund, the son of a local MP. On his motorbike, he rode beside the motorcade and questioned how a non-entity like Lund could get an official police protocol. He was subsequently fired at by Lund's guards before he managed to escape. [3]

Assassination

In the morning of 21 May 2024, Gadani was making his way to the Mirpur Mathelo Press Club, of which he was president, on his motorbike when he was targeted by 3 assailants in a car. He was shot three times in the chest and abdomen, and was immediately taken to the local hospital for emergency first aid. [5] After that he was transported to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital across the nearby regional border into Punjab. With his condition worsening, Gadani was airlifted to the Agha Khan Hospital in Karachi, where he succumbed to his injuries on 24 May 2024. [6]

Gadani's body was brought to his hometown via ambulance, along the way it was stopped several times by students and onlookers to shower it with rose petals in a sign of respect for the slain journalist. His funeral was attended by thousands of locals and he was laid to rest later in the day. [7] Over the past 4 years, Gadani was the 13th journalist who was killed in Sindh, the highest number across Pakistan. [8]

Investigation

Gadani's family, including his mother and two close relatives, maintain that he was killed on the orders of the local MP, Khalid Khan Lund, and his son, town mayor, Shahbaz Lund. The family also named Lund's second son, Noor Muhammad Lund, in their statement and decried that the local police had not included their names in the First information report (FIR) because they were powerful and belong to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. The family was only able to record their statement 40 days after the murder of Gadani. [9]

On 1 June 2024, local activists moved the Sindh High Court to form a judicial commission to probe the murder of Gadani and expressed mistrust on the ongoing official investigation. [10]

On 10 June 2024, Sindh police claimed to have arrested one of the culprits, Asghar Lund, and recovered the murder weapon from him. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

Sobho Gianchandani was a Pakistani Sindhi social scientist, and revolutionary writer.

A governor in Pakistan is the appointed head of state of a province, appointed by the president of Pakistan on the advice of the prime minister. Articles 101 to 105 of the Constitution of Pakistan deal with the appointment, conditions, and duties of a governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghotki District</span> District in Sindh, Pakistan

Ghotki District is a district of the province of Sindh, Pakistan, with headquarter in the city of Mirpur Mathelo. Prior to its establishment as a district in 1993, it formed part of Sukkur District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lal Shahbaz Qalandar</span> Sufi saint and poet (1177–1274)

Usman Marwandi, popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, was a Sufi saint and poet who is revered in South Asia.

The Sindhudesh Movement is a separatist movement, based in Sindh, Pakistan, seeking to create a homeland for Sindhis by establishing an ethnic state called Sindhudesh, which would be either autonomous within Pakistan or independent from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bashir Khan Qureshi</span> Sindhi freedom fighter

Bashir Khan Qureshi was a Sindhi nationalist who served as the leader of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), a Sindhi nationalist movement in Sindh, founded by G. M. Syed. He was assassinated with slow poison at the age of 54 years on 7 April 2012.

Sindhi cinema refers to the Sindhi language film industry in Sindh, Pakistan and among the Sindhi diaspora specially in India.

Mirpur Mathelo is a city in Ghotki District, Sindh province, Pakistan. The city is administratively subdivided into ten union councils. It is the 97th largest city in Pakistan. It is also the location of the archaeological site, Moomal Ji Mari.

The Zardari family is a Pakistani political family which currently holds the chieftaincy of the Sindhi-Baloch Zardari tribe. It owns thousands of acres of land in the Sakrand Taluka, Shaheed Benazirabad District, Sindh, especially in the Fatohal Zardari and Balu Ja Quba villages. The family heads the Zardari tribe, which is a Sindhi-Baloch.

Air Marshal Mohammed Azim Daudpota, commonly known as Azim Daudpota, was the first Sindhi pilot in Pakistan Air Force and the first Sindhi to receive the Sitara-e-Jurrat Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nisar Khuhro</span> Pakistani politician

Senator Nisar Ahmad Khuhro is a Pakistani Sindhi politician who has been the member of the Senate of Pakistan since March 2022. He is also the President of Pakistan Peoples Party's Sindh chapter.

Sohail Sangi is a senior journalist and activist of the leftist movement in Pakistan, presently working with the daily newspaper Dawn. He is one of the visiting faculty of the Mass Communication Department at the University of Sindh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights abuses in Sindh</span> Aspect of politics and organized crime in Pakistan

Human rights abuses in Sindh, Pakistan, range from arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances to torture, extrajudicial killings, and political repression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan Peoples Party Workers</span> Faction

Pakistan Peoples Party Workers is a breakaway faction of Pakistan Peoples Party. The aggrieved workers of the party founded it on October 22, 2014. Safdar Ali Abbasi was elected to its presidency through resolution. The party was registered with the Election Commission on May 8, 2015 by its president.

Mir Rasool Bux Talpur, was a Pakistani politician and officeholder. On November 3,1975,Mir Rasool Bakhsh Khan formed his own party,the National Democratic Movement.Mir Sahib was appointed as the senior minister of Sindh province on May 14,1981 in the Zia era,during which he died on May 1,1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murad Ali Shah</span> Chief Minister Of Sindh and Member Of Pakistan Peoples Party

Syed Murad Ali Shah is a Pakistani politician and structural engineer who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Sindh province of Pakistan and a member of the Sindh Assembly. It is his third term as Chief minister. Shah earlier held portfolios such as Minister of Irrigation of Sindh and Finance Minister of Sindh.

Sardar Muhammad Bux Khan Mahar is a Pakistani politician who had been a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, from May 2013 to May 2018. He is Adviser to CM Sindh 2018 to 2019

Kachho or Kachho Desert is a semi desert area of Sindh, Pakistan. The Kachho is denoted from word of Sindhi language Kachh which stands for a lap or an armpit. The desert of Kachho is near the lap of the Kirthar Mountains range. History reveals that the area of the Kachho desert including Lake Manchar appeared in the result of flow of big branch of the Indus River in earliest times which had been flowing from Kashmore-Kandhkot to Luki Mountains. It is spread over two districts of Sindh Province, Dadu District and Qambar Shahdadkot District. Kachho is rich in fertile soil and forests. The Kachho is affluent in archaeological and historical sites. The several historic and prehistoric remains of civilizations can be observed herein Kachho desert from Neolithic and Bronze Age to British period. The people cultivate many kind of crops in Kachho. Kachho depends on rains. If it rains Kachho becomes prosperous because people cultivate lands and crops which boost the economy of the region including whole country. Due to rains the water level too increases and an environment also becomes pleasant. Mostly, the trees are big reason for heavy rains and good environment of the area. Numerous trees of Kachho desert have been cutting for sell since last many years. Thus, the environment is very pretentious and water level is dropped from 150 feet to 450 feet. The wells dug by people now became dry. The people of several villages of Kachho suffer for fresh drinking water.

On 7 June 2021, before dawn, two trains collided near Daharki, in the Ghotki District of the southern province of Sindh in Pakistan, killing at least 65 people and injuring about 150 others. An express train derailed onto the opposite track, and a second express train crashed into the first roughly a minute later. About six to eight bogies were left "completely destroyed".

Bakhshal Thalho is a Pakistani, left-wing political worker, organizer and progressive writer. He is general secretary of Awami Workers Party.

References

  1. ↑ Bangwar, Ali Hassan (2 June 2024). "Nasrullah Gadani: the martyr of truth". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 Tunio, Hafeez (24 May 2024). "Another journalist's murder in Sindh sparks outcry". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mujtaba, Hasan (28 May 2024). "'Masters, My Foot!' – How Journalist Nasrullah Gadani's Assassination Could Spark A Movement In Sindh". The Friday Times. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Commission for newsmen protection asks Sindh IGP to form new body to probe Nasrullah Gadani's killing". DAWN.COM. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "Pakistan Police Detain 3 Suspects In Kamal Lond In Murder Case Of Journalist Nasrullah Gadani". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Nasrullah Gadani / IFJ". www.ifj.org. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Shamsi, Waseem (25 May 2024). "Wounded journalist Nasrullah Gadani dies at Karachi hospital". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Tunio, Hafeez (21 August 2023). "Journalism remains most perilous vocation in Sindh". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Family points finger at PPP MNA, two sons in journalist Nasrullah Gadani's murder in Ghotki". DAWN.COM. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Court moved against killing of journalist". The Express Tribune. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Shamsi, Waseem (10 June 2024). "Main suspect held, murder weapon seized in journalist Gadani's case". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.