Fata journalists protest against arrest of colleagues

PESHAWAR – The journalist community on Monday held a protest demonstration
against the arrest of their colleague in Khyber Agency and demanded their immediate release.
The protest was spearheaded by Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) former president Ibrahim Shinwari, the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) Saiful Islam Saifi, Peshawar Press Club Vice President Faridullah alongwith a dozen of tribal and local journalists .
The protesting journalists were holding placards and banner inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands.
The demonstrators condemned the arrest of Khalil Jibran, a tribal journalist, and torture in security forces confinement, and demanded his immediate release.
They said that the arrest and torture of Jibran was an inhuman act, and urged the Corps Commander Peshawar, and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor to take immediate notice. They also demanded action against those security personnel for torturing Jibran.
The protesters said that the journalists were not terrorists and announced to boycott from coverage of security forces events until the release of Khalil Jibran, he added.
Saiful Islam Saifi said that the government’s prime responsibility is to ensure protection and safety of the working journalists .
He said that the tribal journalists have rendered matchless sacrifices for peace and stability in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and asked to stop harassing them with various tactics.
He demanded the immediate release of Khalil Jibran and urged the security forces high-ups to take stern action against his arrest and action should be lodged against the security personnel for torturing him.
He warned that if the tribal journalist was not released, the protests would be extended to other parts of the province.
Earlier, a meeting was held at Peshawar Press Club, which attended by senior tribal and local journalists .
The meeting had passed a unanimous resolution, calling for immediate release of all arrested journalists in the Khyber tribal agency.
The meeting was informed that some unidentified miscreants had fixed explosives in the vehicle of local media personnel in Khyber Agency, which was going to attend a vintage car rally, however, the security forces defused the explosives, but they had arrested tribal journalists on board in the vehicle, which was strongly condemnable.
They demanded to immediate expose people, which were involved fixing bomb in tribal journalists’ vehicle, and award them exemplary punishment

Source : The Nation