PFUJ demands action against journalist’s killers
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has demanded that the government compile the facts regarding the kidnapping and killing of tribal journalist Hayatullah Khan Dawar, saying that the killers were sill at large a year after the incident.
The PFUJ-affiliated Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) and the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) in a joint report on Monday said that intelligence agencies might have had a hand in the incident. The detailed report will be released later. Tribal journalist Hayatullah Khan was kidnapped on December 5 last year and found dead on June 16 this year near his hometown Mir Ali in North Waziristan Agency.
“The incidents of violence against the journalists’ community have been on the rise in 2006 and Hayatullah’s killing is the most tragic incident,” parts of the report seen by Daily Times said. “Hayatullah was the third tribal journalist killed since early 2005, and his handcuffed body and head injuries pointed to a long and painful incarceration,” the report said. “Who killed him in cold blood is a question yet to be answered.” Hayatullah’s relatives and journalists believed that the intelligence agencies might be involved in his abduction and subsequent killing.
“Two facts demand a transparent inquiry into the killing: firstly, Hayatullah was kidnapped within four days of Hamza Rabia’s killing after he (Hayatullah) reported that Hamza had fallen victim to a US aerial attack, and secondly, the Al Qaeda and Taliban elements in the area would have found his report favourable,” the report added. “This means that Al Qaeda’s involvement in the journalist’s murder can be ruled out.” The report said that the government failed to make public the judicial commission’s report on Hayatullah’s murder, despite repeated demands by the PFUJ. A Peshawar High Court judge had submitted the report to the government about three months back. The government’s refusal to make the report public indicated its “foul play” in the abduction and murder of Hayatullah, the report said.
Source: Daily Times
Date:12/5/2006
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