“There can be no justification for violence targeting civilians,” Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said today in a statement condemning the attack.

“The loss of these media professionals in the brutal terrorist attack in Quetta undermines citizens' ability to sustain informed debate that is the bedrock of good governance and dialogue,” she added.

Mehmood Khan, a cameraman for Dawn News, and Shehzad Ahmed, a cameraman for Aaj TV, were reporting at the time of the bomb blast on a gathering of mourners following the murder of the president of the Baluchistan Bar Association earlier in the day.

On Monday, in a statement issued by his office, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack, underscoring that the targeting of mourners made it “particularly appalling.”

The UNESCO chief regularly issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States in 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.”