Rawalpindi - Unknown miscreants sent threatening letters to two journalists for highlighting the bravery of a martyr of the Peshawar incident and urging the law enforcement agencies to comb Gujar Khan and its suburbs to purge these localities of illegal Afghan nationals.
The letters, inscribed with threats to Raja Arshad, a private TV channel reporter, and Amir Wazir Malik, district correspondent of Nawa-i-Waqt Gujar Khan and their families, were dropped at their house and shop respectively. Both journalists approached Police Stations Mandra and Gujar Khan for filing a case against unknown miscreants and for the sake of protection.
District Coordination Officer (DCO) Rawalpindi Sajid Zafar Dall, Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Circle Sardar Dr Ghias pledged to take stern action against the unidentified miscreants and assured the journalists that police would register a case and provided them full protection.
Raja Arshad, while talking to The Nation on Saturday, said that some unknown miscreants dropped a letter, written in Urdu Language, at his home threatening him and his family of dire consequences for highlighting the bravery of Nadim-ul-Hassan, a martyred of 137 AMC, who sacrificed his life while guarding the students from terrorists who attacked a school in Peshawar. The letter, copy of which also available with The Nation, stated, “Raja Arshad, you despite knowing that who is real terrorist are speaking a lot against militants on TV channel and social media and urging government to hang militants in public. Now we will tell you as to how somebody is hanged in public. We have seen your house and soon your family members will also appear on TV like the family members of Nadim-ul-Hassan.”
Similar threats were also hurled at another journalist Malik Amir Wazir, who is corresponding for daily Nawa-i-Waqt in Gujar Khan, in the letter that was dropped at his sweet shop.
Malik told this correspondent that unknown miscreants sent him a letter that too written in Urdu Langue in which they warned him not to publish news against Afghan nationals living in Gujar Khan. The letter, copy of which is also owned by The Nation, reads as “Talib Zindabad. You media men have developed enmity with us (Afghan nationals). Nawa-i-Waqt is publishing news against us. The price of bullet is Rs50 and you better know what we want to tell you. Don’t publish any news now or else we can blast your office with the help of Taliban. The journalists of Gujar Khan are worst enemies of Afghans. After Nawa-i-Waqt, two more Urdu newspapers will come under heat. No news should be published against us or else we have quite enough explosive material here.”
Both journalists appealed to the prime minister, federal interior minister, federal minister for broadcasting and information, RPO, CPO, DCO and representatives of journalistic bodies to come forward to rescue them and their families.