PESHAWAR, June 17: The NWFP Assembly through a unanimous resolution on Saturday condemned the murder of journalist Hayatullah Dawar, whose bullet-riddled body was found near Mirali in North Waziristan on Friday.

The deceased was buried in his native town in the presence of thousands of tribesmen and journalists from Fata and Peshawar.

The joint resolution was presented in the house by Education Minister Fazle Ali and Abdul Akbar Khan of the People’s Party Parliamentarians.

The movers said Mr Dawar had been missing since his abduction on Dec 5, 2005, by five armed men from the Mirali bazaar.

They demanded that the federal government arrest the killers forthwith, end the status of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas as a ‘no-go area’, ensure safety of journalists travelling to and from the tribal agencies and lift restrictions on the press.

The house offered Fateha for the journalist and expressed its sorrow over his callous and mysterious murder. The NWFP cabinet earlier expressed sorrow over the murder of Mr Dawar and prayed for his soul.

Members of the Khyber Union of Journalists, Tribal Union of Journalists, Peshawar Press Club, the PPP, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Pakistan Muslim League and People’s Lawyers’ Forum marched through the cantonment area and held a protest meeting in front of the Governor’s House.

MMA leaders Abdul Jalil Jan and Hakim Abdul Waheed, the PPP’s Syed Ayub Shah and Khursheed, KhUJ President Intikhab Amir, PPC President Syed Bukhar Shah and TUJ President Sail Mehsud spoke on the occasion and held Islamabad responsible for the murder.

They asked the Chief Justice of Pakistan to appoint a judicial commission to hold an early inquiry into the murder.