PESHAWAR: The journalist community of Peshawar has shown grave concern over the disappearance of fellow journalists from the provincial metropolis and Shabqadar district of Charsadda, and urged the government to ensure their early and safe recovery.
The demand was made in a joint meeting of Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) and Peshawar Press Club (PPC), headed by Saiful Islam Saifi, on Monday. The meeting was informed that Shah Nawaz Khan, working with Radio Mashaal, a Pashto radio channel supported by Voice of America, and freelance journalist Islam Gul Afridi were missing since Sunday.
Later reports from Swat also reached the provincial capital, regarding the disappearance of another young journalist, namely Junaid Ibrahim. Junaid, a student of mass communications and journalism at Swat University, was associated with a digital newspaper, named The Pashtun Express.
According to details, the relatives and colleagues of Shah Nawaz Khan Tarakzai informed that the journalist was sitting with colleagues in a gathering held at Shabqadar district, from where he was picked up by a number of unknown persons. Whereas, the second journalist Islam Gul Afridi had disappeared soon after arrival in the provincial metropolis from Islamabad on Sunday morning. Likewise, Junaid Ibrahim also went missing from his home in Saidu Sharif, Swat.
The participants of the joint meeting discussed in depth the circumstances that might have led towards the disappearance of the above-mentioned journalists. In this connection, the meeting decided to establish contacts with high ranking civil, police and other security officials concerned to make efforts to ensure the early recovery of the missing persons. In addition, a committee comprising of senior journalists was also constituted after the meeting to investigate the disappearances further.
Through a resolution, the meeting observed that recent acts of violence against journalists, including the killing of a journalist in Swabi and the disappearance of three others, had resulted in widespread anger and unrest among the journalist community.