US ignorant of whereabouts of missing journalist
PESHAWAR, May 10 2006: The fate of the missing journalist from the tribal area, Hayatullah Dawar, is still not known amid claims by the family that Pakistani government was responsible for his kidnapping and the US government is now officially disassociating itself from the incident.
Hayatullah Dawar, a young journalist from Mir Ali town of North Waziristan, went missing on December 5, 2005 while on way for the coverage of a students’ demonstration against the killing of local tribesmen by US missiles in the Esokhel village on December 3.
It was widely believed that Taliban and their sympathisers were behind the kidnapping of Hayatullah, but the family members of the journalist said they had been in contact with the local leaders of the religious groups and the militants, who have assured Dawar’s family that they had no grudge against the missing journalist.
Now the story of Hayatullah is taking a new twist with the statement issued by the Peshawar-based US consul-general, Michael Spangler, in Peshawar during a luncheon he hosted for journalists in connection with the World Press Freedom Day. “We have seen reports regarding the disappearance of Hayatullah and allegations of US involvement in his detention. Hayatullah is not known to the United States. We have no information about his whereabouts,” the brief statement said.
Source: The News
Date:5/10/2006
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