TUJ wants ASF officials, kidnappers held

Ashrafuddin Pirzada

LANDIKOTAL: An important meeting of the tribal journalists from seven Fata agencies and Frontier regions held on Tuesday at main TUJ Peshawar office in which they demanded the arrested of the culprits involved in two incidents happened with tribal journalists.

Tribal journalists while talking to the meeting flayed the repeated harassment, manhandling and torture of the tribal journalists in Peshawar city. They urged the Fata journalists to shun their internal differences and unite against the cruelty, injustice and brutality happening with them.

 The meeting chaired jointly by TUJ Fata president Safdar Hayat Khan Dawar and General Secretary Akmal Khan Qadri was attended by194 tribal and FRs based journalists.

TUJ Fata president, Safdar Hayat Khan Dawar, in his speech made responsible the Khyber Pakhunkhwa government for its poor writ in the city.He said that several tribal journalists had been escaped from their regions to protect their lives in Peshawar but the KPK government had failed in their security. He alleged that intentionally some forces in Peshawar were harassing the tribal journalists to stop them from their fair and transparent reporting.

Safdar appealed the KPK government to take serious steps and provide foolproof security to the tribal journalists in Peshawar city as they have no other place in KPK to insure their safety there.  

He said that tribal and frontier regions’ journalists are demanding action against the Airport Security Staff (ASF) deputed at the Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar for thrashing and injuring the tribal journalist. He also called the world journalists and other humanitarian organizations to come forward and take up the matter with the federal and provincial governments for the life security of journalists.

TUJ Fata General Secretary, Akmal Khan Qadri, said that it was not the first attack on the tribal journalists in Peshawar metropolitan city, but a week ago in a failed kidnapping attempt some unidentified gunmen had attacked on the TUJ Fata finance secretary Dildar in Gul Bahar area of Peshawar. He trashed over the KPK government said that government was involved in such attacks as none of the parliamentarian or official yet condemned the brutality happened with tribal journalists who were serving their people voluntarily.

Qadri said that besides other chapters of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), its Khyber Agency chapter also held an urgent meeting at the Press Club in Landikotal and categorically condemned the manhandling of Tariq Aurakzai by the ASF officials.

The meeting passed unanimously a resolution by setting up a deadline that if the culprits were not arrested within a week time they would go on strike and would protest at the front of Bacha Khan Airport in Peshawar till the arrest of ASF personnel involved in the manhandling of Tariq Orakzai. They also composed a committee to look after the matter and would deal such incidents happen in future.

Tariq Aurakzai, president of Khuram Agency press club was severely injured by the ASF personnel in Bacha Khan International Airport on Saturday. The ASF officials misbehaved with him and beaten him with the butt of their rifles, while Dildar, TUJ Fata finance secretary, had escaped from kidnapping attempt in Peshawar city a week ago.