PESHAWAR: Politicians, civil society members and journalists on Thursday deplored the government’s failure to bring to justice the murderers of Musa Khankhel after six years of his killing.
Pakistan People’s Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Khanzada Khan, National Party’s provincial president Mukhtar Bacha, Member Provincial Assembly Syed Jafar Shah, Khyber Union of Journalists President Nisar Mehmud, Jang Peshawar’s Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik, Geo’s Bureau Chief Mehmood Jan Babar, senior journalist Shamim Shahid, Musa Khankhel’s brother Essa Khankhel, civil society members Arshad Haroon and Zar Ali and others spoke on the sixth death anniversary of Musa Khankhel.
The speaker praised the courage of the slain journalist and eulogised his sacrifice for upholding the true values of journalism. “Hardly anyone is ready to hear truth in our society,” Nisar Mehmud said. “And journalists are the target because they bring out truth,” he added.
The KhUJ president said most killers of 112 journalists, except in two cases, had gone unpunished. He said the state would have to break this impunity.Musa Khankhel, correspondent of The News in Swat, was brutally killed on February 18, 2009 in Matta during a ‘peace rally’ of the now jailed Tanzim Nifaz Shariate Muhammadi chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad. He was shot 32 times.
“Those who are killing journalists should think whether they have succeeded in stopping journalists from telling the truth,” said Mehmood Jan. ANP MPA Jafar Shah praised journalists for braving all the challenges and threats. He said they were true soldiers of the rights of the people. “I think if there is democracy in this country in some form, it’s because of the media,” he said.
Khanzada Khan said his party had paid sacrifices for the people. He said they would always stand by journalists.Jang’s Resident Editor Arshad Aziz Malik said
Musa Khankhel was brave and hard working journalist. He said his killers should have been brought to justice by now. “But lack of investigation and trial in Musa Khankhel’s killing points to the unchallenged impunity in the killing of journalists. There hardly seems to be will from the government to punish the people behind the killing of journalists,” he deplored.