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Pakistani Journalist Shot After Highway Ambush

Doctors in Pakistan say Hamid Mir, a well-known broadcast journalist, is in critical condition after he was shot in Karachi Saturday.
Posted at 1:58 PM, Apr 19, 2014

Doctors in Pakistan say a well-known broadcast journalist is in critical condition after he was shot. Four gunmen allegedly ambushed him while he was riding in a car in Karachi Saturday.

Several bullets hit GEO News anchor Hamid Mir shortly after he left a nearby airport and headed to his office by car. The car's driver said one gunman in a car and two others on motorcycles shot Mir three times.

According to Zee News, Mir is unconscious at a local hospital. The 47-year-old reportedly suffered at least two bullet wounds.

Pakistan Today reports Mir has two severe injuries: in a hip joint and in his stomach. He was taken to a local hospital and is in the intensive care unit. 

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack though Mir has reportedly been a frequent target of the Taliban in the past. He's an outspoken critic of the insurgent group. 

This comes more than a year after explosives were found under Mir's car in an alleged attempt to kill the senior anchor. He said that was no doubt meant to send a message to journalists like himself in Pakistan.

The BBC notes Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Just last year, five journalists were killed. Fifty have died overall in the last two decades, and reporters say many of those cases still haven't been solved.

And the first few months of 2014 have been especially violent. At least seven journalists have died since the beginning of the year. Now, the Hindustan Times reports Pakistan's prime minister has vowed to take steps toward better security.

Mir has worked as a journalist in Pakistan for nearly three decades.