Expressing severe resentment over the abduction of tribal journalist Rahmatullah Darpakhel, the journalist community from both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining tribal belt staged a protest demonstration in Peshawar on Saturday.
The journalists assembled at the Peshawar Press Club and were addressed by Khyber Union of Journalists President Arshad Aziz Malik, Tribal Union of Journalists President Safdar Hayat Dawar and General Secretary Hairan Mohmand, Peshawar Press Club President Saiful Islam Saifi and South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) KP and FATA President Shamim Shahid.
Darpakhel, who served in a private TV channel and a Peshawar-based Urdu newspaper, was picked up by unidentified armed and masked men from Miranshah bazaar on Thursday afternoon. Taliban militants through spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi denied their involvement. So far there is no clue of the abducted journalist.
Speakers held government functionaries responsible for this act. They said time and again journalists from North Waziristan had complained about receiving threats and the authorities concerned had failed to protect the lives of the citizens.
Through a resolution, the joint gathering of KP and FATA journalists demanded an early and safe recovery of Darpakhel. The journalists have threatened complete boycott of government functions and coverage following its failure to recover Darpakhel. In this respect, a joint meeting will adopt future line of action on Monday.Later the journalists held a protest and carried placards in their hands and chanted slogans in favour of their demands.