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June 17, 2006

Pakistan: Journalist Kidnapped By Islamists Found Shot Dead

Whatever crime the journalist Hayatullah Khan (pictured) had done when he publicly displayed photographs of shrapnel remains from a missile which seemed to have been fired by an American Predator drone, he certainly had made enemies. He had shown proof that Pakistani authorities had been lying in their accounts of a bomb blast which had taken place on December 1. The bomb blast at Hatori near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, close to the Afghan border, had been said by Pakistani authorities to have been caused by the individuals who were killed, as they tried to prepare a bomb.

When it was discovered on December 4 that among those who were killed was Al Qaeda's third in command, Egyptian-born Abu Hamza Rabia, Hayatullah's photographs became an embarrassment to all concerned, even the Americans.

But by this time, it was too late for Hayatullah Khan, for his fate had been decided. For the Al Qaeda and Taliban activists hiding out in Waziristan, the evidence produced by Hayatullah was the biggest source of embarrassment. His photographs showed that one of the most powerful Al Qaeda activists in the region had been slaughtered (probably by a Hellfire missile) sent from the skies by their nemesis, the "Great Satan", the United States. If Hayatullah had said nothing, he may have survived.

On December 22 we reported that Hayatullah Khan had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on December 5. As well as showing shrapnel bearing English wording, Hayatullah had given reports based on the villagers' eyewitness accounts, that a missile had been seen to land on the house in Haisori. Nothing had been heard from him when we were writing.

Now, after six months of being missing, Hayatullah has been found, dead, states Washington Post and the Pakistan Daily Times. His body was discovered yesterday in the Khaisor mountains, four kilometres south of Mir Ali.

Normally clean-shaven, Hayatullah was handcuffed and carrying a long beard, indicating he had been in captivity for some time. He had been shot in the back of the head, probably on Thursday.

The Washington Post states that "Khan had in the past been threatened by security forces, suspected Taliban members and tribesmen for his reporting", quoting the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Hayatullah had also been detained by US forces for five days in Afghanistan in 2002.

Hayatullah Khan was a tribal journalist, reporting on the affairs of the mainly Pashtun tribes in the region. He worked for various news sources, including Pakistan's The Nation. This publication, being a weekly, has so far not covered the death of one of its own journalists.

The Daily Times states that he was the third tribal journalist to be killed in the Waziristan region. Two journalists were killed in Wana (South Waziristan) in February 2005. This region is now almost completely "Talibanized", and no journalists from outside are officially allowed into the area.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 17, 2006 5:02 PM

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