MINGORA, Feb 18: A journalist, Musa Khankhel, was killed in Matta Tehsil of Swat on Wednesday.

The correspondent for The News and Geo TV was kidnapped in Matta, where he was covering the visit of Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad, and his bullet-riddled body was found near Dedpani.

The killing came two days after the government signed an agreement with Sufi Mohammad for restoring normality to Swat.

At least eight media personnel have been killed in the violence-hit areas of the Frontier province and the tribal areas during the current turmoil.

Mr Khankhel had been working as a journalist since 1999. He had expressed fears for his life more than once after militancy engulfed Swat.

He received three bullets wounds in the head and chest.

Journalists’ organisations decided to observe Thursday as a black day to mourn the killing.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) called for protests against the murder and termed it most “tragic and brutal”.

It also condemned the destruction of the Wana Press Club in a blast on Tuesday night.

“A journalist has become the first victim after the peace deal in Swat, which is most alarming,” a PFUJ statement said.

Musa Khan, brother of another journalist, Essa Khan of The Nation, gave his last ‘beeper’ today, before he himself became news,” it said.

He was the fourth journalist to have been killed in Swat during the past one year and 20th in two years.

The figures reflected the extent of violence against journalists in Pakistan, it said.

“We salute the bravery of journalists working in the tribal areas, Swat and other conflict zones without any safety or security,” the PFUJ said.

It called upon media houses not to send journalists to ‘danger zones’ without safety training, insurance and safety jackets.

“Journalism is a risky business and journalists in these dangerous areas have been working for several years, but that does not mean that they should not be provided safety and security,” it said.

The PFUJ urged the government to investigate the murder and arrest those responsible as soon as possible.

It offered condolences to Musa’s family and commended his professionalism.

The Karachi Union of Journalists also condemned the killing and said it would hold a march from Karachi Press Club to Governor’s House on Friday.

Agencies add: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the murder of Musa Khankhel and condoled with his family.

They ordered the provincial authorities to investigate the matter and submit a report immediately.

The prime minister directed the NWFP government and law enforcement agencies to apprehend the killers.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik sought a report from the NWFP police chief on the murder.

He said the government would give the killers an exemplary punishment.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman termed the murder an attack on freedom of the press.

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) urged the government to take steps for the safety of journalists. In a statement, CPNE secretary-general Khushnood Ali Khan called upon the government to take notice of the incident which had taken place after the restoration of peace in Swat. He noted that the killers were yet to be arrested and demanded that they should be taken to task.

He said journalists should be allowed to work freely in the area. Mr Khushnood said the CPNE standing committee would discuss in its meeting scheduled for Saturday dangers being faced by journalists throughout the country.

He said many journalists had lost their lives because of a lack of resolve on the part of the government.