Pakistani gunfire injures journalist, critic of the military

ISLAMABAD - Hamid Mir, a prominent Pakistani journalist and a critic of the nation’s powerful military, was wounded by gunmen in the southern port city of Karachi on Saturday evening, according to police officials and local news media reports.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but within hours of the attack, Amir Mir, his brother, accused the chief of the Pakistani intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, of being behind it.

In an emotional outburst on Geo TV, the news network on which Hamid Mir hosts one of Pakistan’s most popular talk shows, Amir Mir assailed the intelligence agency, saying that the ISI “was eating up Pakistan like termites” and accusing its director, Lt. Gen.Zahir ul-Islam, and other ISI officials of planning to kill Mir.

“Truth is bigger than national interest,” Amir Mir said.

He said his brother had told him about two weeks ago that his life was in danger and that he had recorded a video that had been sent to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The attack took place on a busy Karachi street just after 5 p.m. Saturday as Mir was headed to Geo’s main office after arriving in Karachi from Islamabad.

Mir was shot three times, according to Karachi policeofficials. He was taken to Aga Khan Hospital and was undergoing surgery, Geo TV reported. His condition was not immediately clear. According to initial reports, he was shot in the lower abdomen and shoulder.