Pakistan: Protests intensify over killing of journalist Khalil Jibran in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 20 : The protests over the killing of senior journalist Khalil Jibran in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa intensified, Dawn reported on Thursday.
The senior journalist was gunned down in Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, further underscoring the grave threats faced by journalists there.
The incident has triggered protests by journalist organizations and the local residents.
The outraged residents and local journalists staged a protest demonstration on Wednesday morning, prior to Jibran's funeral. They blocked the main highway leading to the Torkham border and condemned the brutal killing of the journalist, reported Dawn.
They accused the law enforcement agencies of failing to launch a search operation soon after the incident despite information about the presence of a group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan activists in the Mazreena hilly area.
They also issued a three-day ultimatum for the arrest of the perpetrators and demanded financial assistance of Rs 10 million for Khalil Jibran's family, and free education for his children.
Additionally, journalists' organizations and press clubs across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also condemned the brutal murder of Khalil Jibran and staged separate protest demonstrations in their respective districts, demanding justice and an end to violence against media professionals.
Separately, several local journalists announced holding another protest demonstration at Bab-i-Khyber in Jamrud on Friday afternoon, as reported by Dawn.
Khalil Jibran's vehicle was ambushed by some armed men, when he was coming back from a dinner party in the Mazreena locality of Sultan Khel with his friends, including a local lawyer.
Two armed men reportedly dragged Khalil Jibran out of the car and ordered the other three occupants to get out, stating that they were not the targets. The gunmen then unleashed a hail of bullets at Jibran, killing him on the spot.
The doctors at the District Headquarters Hospital in Landi Kotal said that the journalist's body bore 19 bullet wounds, and his arm was also fractured, suggesting a physical scuffle between him and the attackers, Dawn reported.
Meanwhile, advocate Sajjad Khan, who sustained a bullet wound to one of his hands, was treated for his injuries and later discharged from the hospital.
He said he had to seek refuge in a nearby house when the armed men opened fire on Khalil Jibran.
However, no armed group or militant organisation claimed responsibility for the murder yet, according to Dawn.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) strongly condemned the murder of Khalil Jibran and demanded that the government arrest the killers and provide protection to the journalists.
They further demanded the government provide protection to media persons so they could perform their professional duties without any fear of attacks.