• Journalists need to be allowed to do their jobs, says Patel.
• Spokesperson says this is deeply personal to the secretary.
• Hassan Zaib was killed on June 18 in KP's Nowshehra.

WASHINGTON: The US State Department has stressed the need to protect journalists across the globe after the murder of Pakistani reporter Malik Hassan Zaib, who lost his life last week in a targeted attack in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Zaib — who, according to the International Press Institute, was the eighth journalist to be killed in Pakistan since the beginning of 2024 — was in a car with his brother when two unidentified assailants on a motorbike stopped his vehicle and shot the journalist dead on the spot.

His brother survived the attack and filed a first information report (FIR) of the incident. The motive behind the 40-year-old journalist’s killing is unclear.

"Journalists need to be protected and they need to be allowed to do their jobs, whether that be the United States, whether that be Pakistan, whether that be in the Gaza Strip," State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday.

His response came during a press briefing when he was asked to comment on the death of Zaib.

"That is something that we feel strongly, and it’s something that is deeply personal to the Secretary [Antony Blinken]," he noted.

"It’s obviously personal to us and this team having – spending most of our days engaging with you all. But simply put, journalists need to be protected and need to be able to do their jobs," Patel added.

At a daily publication, Zaib covered health and city beats. He was also a member of the Khyber Union of Journalists and the Peshawar Press Club (PPC).