At least 138 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1990, according to the International Federation of Journalists (ICJ).

On Friday, the ICJ issued the ‘White Paper on Global Journalism' which listed five nations -- Iraq, Mexico, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India -- as the "most dangerous countries for practice of journalism in the world", Dawn news reported.

According to the White Paper, in the Indian sub-continent, murders of journalists in Pakistan (138) and in India (116) have featured almost every year in the killed list since 1990, making up 40 per cent of the total deaths in the Asia Pacific region.

In 2020, the IFJ has recorded 42 killings of journalists (49 in 2019) and media staff so far in targeted attacks, bomb blasts and cross-fire incidents in 15 countries since the start of the year.

This year, four Pakistani journalists -- Aziz Menon, Javedullah Khan, Anwar Jan, Shaheena Shaheen -- lost their lives.

Following Jan's murder on July 23 in Balochistan province, a series of protests broke out calling for justice.

The initial protests were staged in Barkhan, where he was shot dead by by two gunmen. The demonstrations later spread to the provincial capital of Quetta and the Gwadar port city.

The hashtag #JusticeforAnwarJan was also created on social media.

In 2019, at least seven journalists were killed across the country, according to the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

(IANS)