Protest over journalist’s killing grows stronger
ISLAMABAD, June 20 2006: Journalists rallied across the country for a third consecutive day on Monday to protest the killing of tribal journalist Hayatuallah Khan and demanded that authorities catch the culprits. Dozens of journalists walked out of the Parliament House during a debate on the new budget and boycotted a weekly Foreign Ministry news briefing. “Journalists have decided to boycott official functions and briefings because of Khan’s killing,” Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists leader Aroosa Alam said.
The government promised on Sunday a judicial inquiry, but journalists protesting in Islamabad demanded a Supreme Court investigation. “The judicial commission is just a lollypop,” Alam said. “We want the government to let a fact-finding mission of journalists and parliamentarians to visit North Waziristan because we donÂ’t trust them.” About 70 protesters also gathered outside the Parliament House, wearing black armbands and chanting “arrest the killers of Hayatullah Khan”. “It’s a message to all of us that we should shut our mouths or weÂ’ll face the same treatment,” a journalist group leader, Afzal Butt, told the rally, referring to Khan’s death.
Reporters in Islamabad said they would refuse to cover parliament and Foreign Office briefings until their demands were met. International press freedom groups have also called for a full investigation into Khan’s killing. Khan was shot dead and his body dumped on Friday in the Mir Ali town of North Waziristan Agency, from where he was abducted on Dec 5 last year. His abduction came days after he photographed shrapnel from a Hellfire missile allegedly fired by an unmanned American warplane, which killed a wanted Egyptian al-Qaeda figure, Hamza Rabia, in Mir Ali.
“There is severe anger and grief in the journalists’ community,” said Tariq Usmani, secretary general the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists. Similar protests were being held across the country to condemn the killing, he added. Khan worked for an Urdu daily and the European Pressphoto Agency. His widely published photograph contradicted the government claim that Rabia had died in a bomb-making accident.
No one has claimed responsibility for abducting Khan, but his relatives blame the country’s top spy agency. The government denies that the ISI played a role and authorities have blamed Islamic militants. Meanwhile, Minister for Information Muhammad Ali Durrani reiterated that the government would conduct an independent inquiry into Khan’s killing. He also reiterated the government’s resolve to protect the life of every citizen and said it believed in press freedom. Talking to the journalists outside the Parliament House, the minister said the government had all the sympathies with the journalist’s family. He said that, on the instructions of the prime minister, the Law Ministry had asked the Peshawar High Court to form a commission to probe the killing.
Durrani assured the journalists that every effort would be made to nab the killers and bring them to justice. The prime minister, he added, had already announced Rs 500,000 compensation for Khan’s family while his children would be provided with free education. He also mentioned the killing of former senator Faridullah Khan and said, “We will collectively have to fight the scourge of terrorism.” Also on Monday, speaking to a delegation of the Khyber Union of Journalists on Monday, NWFP Governor Lt-Gen Ali Muhammad Aurakzai said three high-level inquiry commissions had been set up to carry out a fair and transparent investigation into the killing of the tribal journalist.
“The inquiry would be fair, true and transparent and nothing would be hidden from anyone and reports of the inquiry commissions are likely to be completed in two weeks’ time,” the governor assured. The judicial commission headed by Justice Raza Muhammad Khan of the Peshawar High Court, the chairman of the Governor’s Inspection Team and the political administration of North Waziristan Agency is working to probe the murder, he said, adding that the reports of the commissions would make the picture of the whole tragic episode clear and end controversies and speculations about the incident.
“We need to have an objective inquiry to trace out the real picture,” he said. The governor announced Rs 500,000 compensation for the heirs of the deceased journalist. This amount is in addition to the amount announced by the prime minister the other day. The compensation will reach the family members of the slain journalist by Tuesday morning. In reply to a question if there was a ban on journalist visits to tribal areas, Aurakzai said, “There is no such ban and journalists are free to go anywhere in Fata. Your role is of paramount importance in establishing peace and calm in troubled spot in the tribal belt. Press is an important pillar of national segment as it educates the society.”
However, he advised the journalists to be very careful while handling stories about the tribal region, as it had become an international focus and “any mishandling at this difficult time will further complicate the situation there”. Later, the governor gifted pens to the journalists and hoped they would use them for objective reporting, especially while reporting about the tribal areas. “I want to bring attitudinal change in Fata by giving pen(s) in the hands of the tribal youth in place of guns.”
Source: The News
Date:6/20/2006
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
