Washington (AFP)

The Washington Post on Thursday announced plans to publish an Arabic-language page of opinion columns and editorials.

The move will “expand the reach of Post journalism to readers around the world” and feature commentary “relevant to the Arabic-speaking audience,” the Post said

The page will feature columns by writers world-wide, including some based in the Middle East and North Africa, it said.

“This page will make it easier for more readers to access free and independent commentary about the cultural and political topics that most impact them,” said Fred Hiatt, the newspaper’s editorial page editor.

“The importance of this has become more evident since the murder of our own colleague Jamal Khashoggi, who saw very clearly the need for a forum such as this,” Hiatt added.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who was a contributor to the Post, was murdered and his corpse dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Turkish officials have blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing, an accusation denied by the Saudi authorities, who have charged 11 people in connection with Khashoggi’s murder.