Lala Hameed Baloch

Daily Intikhab

November 18, 2010, in an area outside Turbat, Pakistan

Hameed's gunshot-riddled body was found outside Turbat, a city in western Baluchistan province, after he had disappeared on October 25 while traveling to his home in Gwader, according to the Gwader Press Club. Local journalists believed he was seized by Pakistani security officials, according to Mazhar Abbas, former secretary-general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.

Hameed reported for the Urdu-language Daily Intikhab and worked as a stringer for several other news outlets, Abbas said. He was an active supporter of the Baluch National Movement, a political organization that advocates for an autonomous Baluchistan, according to Baluch nationalist websites and local news reports.

Both his reporting and his political activities were considered possible motives for his murder, according to Owais Aslam Ali, secretary-general of the Pakistan Press Foundation.

The body of another man, Hamid Ismail, was discovered with Baloch, according to local news reports. Four other bodies were found across Baluchistan during the three-day festival of Eid, which concluded November 19, according to the Lahore-based Daily Times newspaper. Relatives alleged that government officials had targeted the victims for their political activism.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.