The head of the United Nations culture organisation UNESCO on Tuesday condemned the slaying of prominent journalist and newspaper editor Shujaat Bukhari and his two police bodyguards in Indian-administered Kashmir last week.
“I condemn the murder of Shujaat Bukhari and his bodyguards,” said UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay.
“I trust the authorities will spare no effort in seeking and prosecuting the killers who were undeterred by the presence of police in their determination to silence a journalist known as a voice of moderation.”
Shujaat Bukhari, editor of the daily Rising Kashmir newspaper, was shot by unidentified gunmen as he was leaving his office in Srinagar on 14 June. The two unnamed police guards escorting him were also killed in the attack.
Bukhari had been under police protection since an earlier attack in 2000.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is at the centre of a decades-old territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety and control different parts of it.
India has also been battling armed militant groups who are fighting against Delhi's rule in Kashmir. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people over the years.
Bukhari lobbied for peace in Kashmir in by organising conferences and summits in the US, UK and other parts of the world.
