UN chief Antonio Guterres expresses grief at killing of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed grief at the killing of Indian photo-journalist Danish Siddiqui in Afghanistan, with the UN mission in the war-torn country calling for an investigation into his killing as well as those of other reporters.

“The Secretary General grieves the journalists killed or indeed harassed anywhere in the world and the case of Danish Siddiqui is one such case,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing on Friday.

He was responding to a question by PTI on the killing of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Siddiqui, who worked for Reuters news agency and was killed in Afghanistan while he was covering the fierce fighting between Afghan troops and Taliban militants near a border crossing with Pakistan in Kandahar province.

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“This of course is also an example of the particular problems that we're facing in Afghanistan right now and as I just pointed out from the Mission side, this is something we're concerned about is the increasing threat to journalists in Afghanistan as well.”

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) tweeted that “Media working in #Afghanistan & journalism itself in the country is under increasing threat. Our deep condolences to family & friends of @dansiddiqi. A painful reminder of mounting dangers faced by the media in Afghanistan. Authorities must investigate this & all the killing of reporters.”