Sialkot Union Council (UC) Chairman Imran Cheema, who is accused of a print journalist’s murder, remains out of the police’s reach even after a week since the killing, reported a private media outlet on Tuesday.
Zeeshan Butt, a journalist associated with a Lahore-based newspaper, had visited Cheema’s office in the Sambrial Tehsil on March 27 to inquire about the taxes imposed on shop owners in the Begowala Union Council, according to an audiotape of his last telephonic conversation.
Subsequent to a harsh exchange of words between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) UC chairman and the journalist, the latter was issued death threats from Cheema — verified by the audiotape of the journalist’s telephonic conversation with District Council Chairman Hina Arshad Waraich.
Butt had called the district council chairman to complain against the death threats, however, the slain journalist was unable to complete the conversation that abruptly ended following the sound of three gunshots allegedly fired at him.
The man succumbed to injuries sustained from the firing within the UC Begowala office premises — site of the incident.
Prior to calling Waraich, Butt had contacted the area’s SHO and informed him about the death threats but the authorities had failed to respond to his request for assistance.
The family of the deceased continues to demand justice while the authorities have failed to make any progress in the case.
According to the local police, latest technology was being used to trace the accused who fled the scene of the incident and is in hiding since then.