PESHAWAR, Oct 30: The journalist community has demanded that the government should protect the life of a senior newsman, Jahangir Shahzad, who has been threatened by a group of smugglers.

According to a statement issued jointly by the Khyber Union of Journalists, the All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation and the Peshawar Press Club, the community has asked the NWFP government to provide protection of life and property to Mr Shahzad who works for an Urdu daily.

It said that the gang of smugglers wanted to gag Mr Shahzad who came up with the a report of the illegal manufacturing of foreign cosmetic items inside the city by the same gang.

The journalists’ bodies deplored the attitude of the city police which were not properly responding to the complaints lodged by Mr Shahzad.

They warned if anything happened to Mr Shahzad the police would be held equally responsible.