CHARSADDA, Jan 18: Journalists in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas held protest demonstrations against killing of their colleague Mukarram Khan Atif, who was shot dead by unidentified persons in Shabqadar on Tuesday.

The slain journalist was laid to rest at Akhund Zaffar Baba graveyard amid tight security on Wednesday. A large number of journalists, political leaders and social workers attended his funeral prayers. Journalists from Waziristan, Charsadda and other areas were present on the occasion. PPP-S provincial president Sikandar Sherpao and local leaders of Jamaat-i-Islam and other parties also attended the funeral prayers.

The journalists of Charsadda and Shabaqar held separate protest rallies against the killing of their colleague and demanded immediate arrest of the killers. They demanded of the government to provide protection to journalists. They also expressed concerned over the growing incident of violence against journalists.

In Bajaur tribal region, journalists held a protest demonstration against the killing of Mukarram Khan. The members of Bajaur Press Club and civil society and activists of different political parties participated in the protest rally. The rally started from Bajaur Press Club and ended at the main square of Khar Bazaar.

They condemned the killing of their colleague and said that tribal journalists were working under threats. They accused the government of not providing security to tribal journalists. They demanded immediate arrest of the assailants of their colleague.

In Kurram Agency, journalists expressed concern over the killing of Mukarram Khan and demanded of the government to take steps to stop attacks on journalists. A meeting of tribal journalists was held at Parachinar Press Club to condemn the gory incident. The meeting was addressed by Azmat Alizai, Haji Sajjad Ali and Ali Afzal Afzal.

In Kohat, the local journalists staged a protest demonstration against the murder of their tribal colleague. The protesting journalist said that they would not bow to any kind of pressure and would continue to discharge their duty fearlessly.