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Taliban threaten to kill three ‘spy’ journalists

PESHAWAR: The Tribal Union of Journalists asked the government on Saturday to protect three journalists in Kohat after the Taliban in Darra Adam Khel threatened to kill them on Friday. Munawar Afridi of The News, Nisar Afridi of Khabrian and Wazir Afridi of Daily Akhbar were threatened by a little-known militant organisation – Islami Mujahideen – TUJ President Sailab Mehsud told Daily Times. Meshud said the death threats came in the form of pamphlets calling on the “faithful to kill the trio” that were distributed in Darra Adam Khel Bazaar and surrounding areas, he said. “We are like dead people now after the distribution of he Pamphlets,” Nisar Afridi told Daily Times over the telephone from Darra Adam Khel. The pamphlets accused the three journalists of “having links with intelligence agencies”, but the TUJ president said they had been threatened because of their coverage of militant activities in Darra Adam Khel. One of the three journalists said the “government knows who distributed the pamphlets, but it is still not taking action”. The militant group also accused Khasadar Pasham Khan, tribal elder Malik Sanauddin, Tablighi Jamaat worker Naveed Khan and five shopkeepers of the Darra Bazaar of having links with intelligence agencies. It called for a social boycott of these men if they were to be saved from harm. Meanwhile on Friday, militants beat up a cameraman working for Pushto TV channel AVT Khyber in Swat valley, detaining him for more than three hours. Shaheen Buneri, the bureau chief of AVT Khyber in Mingora, told Daily Times that cameraman Taj Rehman was covering a demonstration by supporters of cleric Maulana Fazlullah when he was taken away. He said that Taj was badly beaten up by the supporters. Fazlullah led a successful campaign against TVs in the district by paying people who brought their TV sets to him to be trashed. Buneri said the bureau was closed after supporters of the cleric tried to damage the building. staff report

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