PESHAWAR, May 16: Participants of a joint meeting of various journalists' bodies held on Monday expressed deep concern over the life threats to media persons and failure of the government and owners of media outlets to take steps for protection of the workers in the militancy hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

The meeting was held at Peshawar Press Club with Khyber Union of Journalists president Arshad Aziz Malik in the chair. The meeting also offered Fateha for the departed soul of tribal journalist Nasrullah Afridi.

Those who spoke on the occasion included among others Tribal Union of Journalists president Safdar Hayat Dawar, Safma provincial president Shamim Shahid, PFUJ assistant secretary general Khalid Khan Kheshgi and Peshawar Press Club president Safiullah Saifi.

They criticised the police for failing to properly interrogate the killing of tribal journalist, Nasrullah Afridi, who was killed in a bomb explosion a few days ago. The police had spread baseless news by terming the bomb blast a gas cylinder explosion.

They said the police created misunderstanding by giving the target killing a wrong angle and added that police also tried to create hurdles in the protest demonstration at Sher Shah Suri against the incident. “It was a target killing as the cleric who led the funeral prayer is receiving life threats by a militant group,” some participants said.

The journalists said the interrogation of the case was a challenge for the police to nominate the accused in the FIR. They also criticised the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists for keeping mum over the killing, saying, the KhUJ had always welcomed every call of the PFUJ but the latter avoided giving a protest call against the killing of Nasrullah Afridi.

The speakers also expressed concern that the owners of various media outlets were least concerned to protect their employees and support families of the deceased journalists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

It was decided to write letters to the government authorities including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor, chief minister, and federal interior minister to make them realise the gravity of the situation.

“The silence by the government over the killing of senior journalist in Peshawar cantonment area is condemnable,” the participants said. — Bureau Report