DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Upper South Waziristan District Press Club has issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the safe recovery of journalist Inamullah Mehsud, who was ‘kidnapped’ two days ago.

During a news conference in Tank on Monday, press club president Malik Hayatullah Mehsud warned that if the journalist was not recovered within 24 hours, a protest movement would be launched across the district.

He complained that despite the passage of 48 hours after the abduction, no FIR had been registered nor had the police investigation made meaningful progress.

“If authorities cannot protect journalists, it should declare so openly so that they and other citizens take steps to ensure their protection,” he said.

Press club president wonders how Mehsud taken away from sensitive area in Tank

He resented the “security lapse” and wondered how a journalist could be abducted from a sensitive area in Tank city.

He said the kidnapping was a failure of law-enforcement or intelligence agencies.

Mehsud said the police’s failure to register FIR would raise questions about the abduction.

He announced a peaceful protest on Tuesday from the District Press Club to Tank Traffic Chowk, urging journalists, lawyers, traders and tribal elders to join it.

“Every constitutional and legal avenue will be taken to ensure the journalist’s safe recovery.

If the issue remains unresolved, the protest movement will be extended at provincial and national levels,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tribal Union of Journalists president Omer Deen Mehsud condemned the incident and demanded action. He called for the early registration of an FIR and steps for the safe and immediate recovery of Inamullah Mehsud.

KILLED: A man killed a girl over a land dispute in the Kattakhel area here on Monday.

The incident occurred as the gunman entered a house and opened fire on a woman and her children.

The police booked the accused on the charges of murder and attempted murder on the complaint of 35-year-old Sadia Bibi.

The complainant said she was at home with her children and mother-in-law, while her husband was away for work when Hussain Ahmad, a relative of her husband, made a forced entry brandishing a 30-bore pistol.

She said the accused wanted to know the whereabouts of her husband and then indiscriminately fired bullets, injuring her seven-year-old daughter, Madeeha Bibi, who died on the way to the Panyala Hospital. The other family members remained unhurt.

The police said they had begun further investigation into the matter.

PROTEST: Residents of Daraban Chungi area here on Monday protested prolonged power cuts by blocking the main road.

The protesters shouted slogans against the government and relevant departments over power outages, especially during the scorching summer time, and said that it had made their life miserable.

The protesters highlighted that elderly citizens, women, children and patients were severely affected by the hours-long power cuts. They added that commercial activities in the area had also come to a halt due to the lack of electricity.

The residents demanded that the government ensure an uninterrupted power supply to their relief.

They warned that if the issue was not resolved without delay, the scope of the protest would be expanded.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025