(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to North West Frontier Province Governor Lt.-Gen. Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, RSF protested the arrest of Shujaat Ali Khan, correspondent of the “Aaj” (Today) and “Din” (Day) dailies. Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general, asked the North West Frontier Province governor to ensure that “the journalist is immediately released”. “As far as […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to North West Frontier Province Governor Lt.-Gen. Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, RSF protested the arrest of Shujaat Ali Khan, correspondent of the “Aaj” (Today) and “Din” (Day) dailies. Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general, asked the North West Frontier Province governor to ensure that “the journalist is immediately released”. “As far as we know, he only used his right to inform,” he added.
According to information collected by RSF, Shujaat Ali Khan was arrested on 29 August 2000 in Bisham (north of Peshawar) for “impersonation” following a judge’s order. The magistrate accused him of publishing a story in “Azadi” (Freedom) newspaper, for which Shujaat Ali Khan is not a journalist. The journalist is now detained in the Central Jail in Saidu Sharif. It appears that Shujaat Ali Khan’s arrest is linked to the publication of a widow’s appeal to Pakistan’s military ruler, seeking his help to arrest her son’s and husband’s killers. The judge in charge of the widow’s case was directly involved in the appeal. This same judge ordered the journalist’s arrest.
