Pakistani Journalists Condemn Death of Photographer

By: Scores of journalists marched in Pakistan's capital Saturday to condemn the slaying of a colleague who vanished after reporting the death of an al-Qaida operative in a U.S. missile strike.

Hayatullah Khan, in his mid 30s, was found dead in the conservative tribal region of Mir Ali on Friday, six months after he was kidnapped. He had been handcuffed and shot in the back, local officials said.

His Dec. 5 abduction occurred days after photographing shrapnel from a Hellfire missile allegedly fired by an unmanned American warplane to target wanted al-Qaida figure Hamza Rabia in Mir Ali.

The widely published photograph contradicted a claim by Pakistan's government that Rabia had died while making bombs in his hideout in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan where remnants of Taliban and al-Qaida are believed to be hiding.

Chanting "Killer, killer, government killer," about 100 journalists demanded an impartial investigation into Khan's death. Opposition lawmakers also attended the rally.

Earlier Saturday, Khan's brother, Ahsan Ullah, accused the country's main spy agency Inter-Service Intelligence of killing him, though he offered no evidence.

"I was informed by an ISI officer about the death of my brother, and I told him that you have done it," he told reporters after his brother's funeral, which was attended by about 5,000 people.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao called Khan's killing a "dastardly act" and promised Saturday to take stern action against those responsible.

Sherpao told the protesting journalists that no intelligence agency was behind Khan's kidnapping or death, and claimed the government had tried hard to recover Khan alive.

In January, a Pakistani government official said Islamic militants may have abducted Khan.

Khan's brother Hasneen Ullah told The Associated Press that Khan "sacrificed his life for exposing the truth."

Khan worked for Pakistan's Urdu-language daily Ausaf and the European Pressphoto Agency.