Little progress on probes into murder cases of Pakistani journalists

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR, March 16, 2007: A government-provided list giving details of each murder case involving journalists does not look encouraging. Federal Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah underlined the government’s success in the case of American journalist Daniel Pearl’s murder case when the killers were brought to justice but he was speechless when his attention was drawn towards other murder cases involving Pakistani journalists.

The government believes the high-profile murder of tribal journalist Hayatullah Khan was the “result of a monetary dispute”, according to an Interior Ministry document. The family denied the claims.

The document - “Killing of journalists” - was made public after a meeting between Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah and a delegation of the International Federation of Journalists in Islamabad on February 24. It also discusses the murders of 8 other Pakistani journalists, none of whose killers have been tried. “The family of the journalist feels the incident of killing could have been the result of some monetary dispute,” the document said of possible motives behind Hayatullah’s murder.

However, the deceased journalist’s family rejected the government’s account. “Whatever the government says in the document is what the political administration told the government. We totally reject it and call upon the government to make public reports of the judicial commission and two departmental inquiries,” Hayatullah’s younger brother Ehsanullah Khan said. The document, obtained by International Mission, added that a Pushto leaflet was circulated in Miranshah bazaar a day following the killing of Hayatullah indicating that he was killed by militants “due to alleged spying … for the government.”

Ehsanullah said tribesman Rahim Jan who distributed the leaflets had been arrested and had confessed that “a security agency paid him for distribution of the leaflets to mislead people”.

“We have no doubt that the state’s security agency killed Hayatullah and whatever in the government document is said is absolutely a bundle of lies,” he said. Hayatullah was kidnapped on December 15, 2005, and his body was found in June last year in North Waziristan. The family pointed the fingers at the country’s intelligence agencies for his murder due to his exposure of a US missile attack on an alleged Al Qaeda hideout.

According to the document, the government acknowledged its failure to arrest Hayatullah’s killers. “The culprits are not yet apprehended,” it read.

In the double murder case of two tribal journalists – Amir Nawab and Allah Noor - the government failed to ascertain the exact motive of the killing. The two journalists were killed on February 7, 2005, in Wana after returning from a signing ceremony in which Baitullah Mehsud struck peace accord with the government.

Similarly, in the murder case of Ismail Khan, the senior Pakistan Press International news agency editor who was killed in Islamabad on November 1 last year, the government said: “The motive of the killing could not be ascertained. Hectic efforts were made but no clue was found (and) efforts continue.”

In the case of Sajid Tanoli, who was shot dead on January 29, 2004, in Mansehra, the government linked his murder to his work. “Main accused Khalid Khan absconded and could not be arrested,” the document said. “The NWFP government has been told to send his case to Interpol for his (accused) repatriation.” The document said the family of murdered journalist Shahid Soomro, of Sindhi language Kawish newspaper, “patched up with the accused parties and the court acquitted all the accused persons” who were arrested by the government. The investigation found that Soomro’s murder was not linked to his profession.

In the case of freelance journalist Fazal Wahab, who was killed on January 21, 2003, in Swat district, the government said: “Despite the hectic efforts and impartial investigation by local police, the culprits could not be traced out. The case is now being reinvestigated.” Wahab had written books on “negative characters of mullahs and criticized their performance”.

In the May 29, 2006, murder case of Munir Ahmed Sangi, cameraman for Sindhi language channel KTN, the document read that there was “no motive behind the killing as the cameraman accidentally received a bullet during a crossfire between two parties”.

It added that the culprit, Abdul Karim, was arrested and “challaned” to court where the matter is still pending trial in Larkana district.

Nine journalists, including Daniel Pearl of the United States, have been killed in Pakistan since 2002, and the government has brought only Pearl’s killers to justice.