NEW DELHI: The South Asian Media Commission (SAMC) on Monday raised an alarm at the death threats to its vice-president and senior Afghan journalist Farida Nekzad.

The threats have come just days after the killing of two women mediapersons in Afghanistan.

The Commission, in a statement, said the Afghan Government should ensure the security and safety of journalists.

"This is very disturbing that after killing of two Afghan women journalists in the past two weeks, some unknown people are sending out death threats through phone calls and emails to Ms. Nekzad, the Chief Editor of Afghanistan's only independent news agency, Pajhwok," SAMC Chairperson and Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu N. Ram said in a statement.

Other signatories are SAMC secretary-general Najam Sethi and South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) secretary-general Imtiaz Alam.

According to SAFMA Afghanistan's general secretary Rahimullah Samander, unknown people called up Ms. Nekzad four times during the past three days. "She has also got an email very clearly citing Zakia Zaki and Shakiba Sanga Amaj's killings and saying that she will be killed soon in the same way."

Zakia Zaki, owner and manager of private Peace Radio in a town 60 km north of the capital Kabul, was killed in her home last week by unidentified people. Zaki, who was in her late 30s, had been critical of the country's warlords. On May 31, Shakiba (22), a popular television presenter, was shot dead in her home.

Demanding the arrest of the killers and those who were threatening Ms. Nekzad, the SAMC statement said such attacks and threats would undermine the advances made in media freedom in Afghanistan since the removal of the Taliban in 2001.

Formed this April at the last SAFMA meeting in the capital, the SAMC is a new watchdog that monitors journalists' safety and violation of media rights.

Afghanistan is a recent entrant in the SAFMA, which opened its office in Kabul in February this year.

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