HARIPUR: Slain journalist Sohail Khan was laid to rest in Hattar village here on Wednesday amid calls for the government to financially support his family.

The correspondent of a local daily was killed by gunmen here on Tuesday afternoon with his family accusing two brothers from the village Ali Sher and Humayun of the murder.

However, the police failed to arrest the suspects.

Journalists, politicians, social activists and people from other walks of life attended the funeral of Sohail Khan in large numbers.

Haripur journalists ask govt to support deceased’s family

DIG of Hazara police Mohammad Alam Khan Shinwari and Haripur DPO Mansoor Amman visited his family, offered fateha for him and assured them of the early arrest of the suspects.

Members of the Haripur Union of Journalists and Haripur Press Club placed a wreath on the journalist’s grave.

Sohail’s father Shafaqat Khan named Ali Sher and Humayun of the village as suspected killers in the complaint filed with the police.

He claimed that his son had published news reports about the involvement of the suspects’ father, Musarat Iqbal, in drug trafficking leading to the latter’s arrest over the seizure of one kilogramme of charas.

The complainant insisted that the suspects had made death threats against his son several times and that the police were formally informed about them.

The police later registered a criminal case against the suspects but both continued to be at large.

Meanwhile, members of the Haripur Union of Journalists and Haripur Press Club held an emergency meeting.

They condemned Sohail Khan’s killing and asked the police for early arrest of the suspects for punishment.

The participants said the murder was an attempt to muzzle media and showed the government’s failure to protect investigative journalists.

They demanded protection for journalists and their families and financial support for the family of the deceased.

The participants later took out a rally against the killing. Carrying placards, shouting slogans and wearing black armbands, they demanded the immediate arrest of culprits for punishment.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2018