Muhammad Bilal Khan, having over 16,000 followers on Twitter, 48,000 on his YouTube channel and 22,000 on Facebook, was with his uncle Ehtesham, when he received a phone call after which a man took him to the nearby forest on Sunday night
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Islamabad: A 22-year-old Pakistani blogger and journalist known for criticising the country's powerful military and the spy agency ISI was hacked to death by an unidentified men here, police said on Monday.
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Muhammad Bilal Khan, having over 16,000 followers on Twitter, 48,000 on his YouTube channel and 22,000 on Facebook, was with his uncle Ehtesham, when he received a phone call after which a man took him to the nearby forest on Sunday night, Dawn news quoted police as saying. Superintendent of Police Saddar Malik Naeem said Khan was attacked in the G-9/4 area of Islamabad and was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His uncle was severely injured and has been hospitalised, he said.
The suspect used a dagger to kill him, Naeem said, adding that some people heard gunshot firing as well. Apart from being a social media activist, Khan was also a freelance journalist. He hailed from Gilgit-Baltistan and was a Shariah graduate from the International Islamic University of Islamabad (IIUI), according to Express News.
Soon after his killing, #Justice4MuhammadBilalKhan started trending on social media. Several Twitter users said that his criticism of the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) led to his killing. "Pakistani activist and journalist Mohammad Bilal Khan was shot dead last night in Islamabad. Khan was known for his criticism of the all-powerful military and its notorious spy agency," a man said in a tweet.
The deceased's father Abdullah said that his body had marks of a sharp tool. "My son's only fault was that he spoke about the Prophet," he said. A case was registered under various sections including the Anti Terrorism Act. The incident has created fear among people, Khan's father said.
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