Senators in the Meshrano Jirga, the Upper House of Parliament, said Sunday government needs to step in and take constructive steps to safeguard the lives of journalists.

They said the spate of targeted killings of journalists in the past few months is shocking and government needs to clarify its stance.

Some senators stated that the attacks on journalists is an attack on freedom of expression and the voice of the people, and this great achievement should not be sacrificed.

“The continuation of targeted killings, especially of journalists, has caused serious concern among the people, and the government should take all possible measures to prevent the killing of journalists, and if the Taliban is not involved in these cases, the government need to find clues as to who assassinated the journalists,” said Meshrano Jirga Speaker Fazl Hadi Muslimyar.

“Regarding the terrorists, I must say that the press is the fourth pillar of the system. They [journalists] are trying to provide awareness to the people, and the enemies are trying to target them, and the government must take serious measures to ensure the security of journalists.” said Sayed Safiullah Hashimi, another senator.

“The killing of journalists and the country’s elite is shocking, and the government must take a stand to protect the lives of journalists, and the perpetrators of the murders of journalists must be punished and it must be determined who are behind these assassinations,” said Mohammad Hanif Hanafi, another senate member.

“The Meshrano Jirga is in support of journalists and calls on the government to create a course of action for the safety of journalists to ensure their security, and we will issue a statement in support of journalists.” Muslimyar added.

This comes after five journalists have been killed in the past two months alone – each in a separate attack.

So far no group has claimed responsibility.

However, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a statement on Sunday that its forces foiled an assassination attempt against a Khost journalist.

According to the NDS, the Haqqani network, in collusion with other terrorist groups, is seeking to target media activists and recently hired two people to assassinate a TV reporter in Khost. However they were arrested by security forces before executing their plan.