Pak Information Minister says Musa Khankhel's killing an 'attack on free media'

Lahore, Feb.18 (ANI): Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Sherry Rehman on Wednesday denounced the tragic killing of Geo News correspondent Musa Khankhel in the Matta area of the Swat Valley.

Terming the killing as an attack on the independence of the media in Pakistan, Rehman said the murderers of Khankhel would be arrested soon and tried in a court of law.

Rehman assured the family of Khankhel complete financial support by the government.

Khankhel was shot dead while he was on duty in the Matta area.

The bereaved family has demanded that the Pakistan Government bring the perpetrators to justice.

The murder of Khankhel took place in Matta even as thousands of men marched for peace in another part of Pakistan"""s troubled Swat Valley.

The march was led by Sufi Mohammad, the man who signed a deal to enforce Sharia's law to end a bloody insurgency.

"I have come here to establish peace and I will not leave until this mission is achieved," Sufi Mohammad told people in Mingora.

About 15,000 people participated in the march in the crowd, waving black and white flags. The cleric advised them to recite only Quranic verses.

The elderly cleric walked behind several rows of followers, who were mostly bearded and sporting black turbans. Mohammad, who was wearing a black waistcoat and white shalwar kamiz avoided the gaze of television cameras as he walked.

Local gathered to greet Mohammad, who was jailed in Pakistan for six years after returning from Afghanistan where he led thousands of supporters to fight against US-led troops who toppled the Taliban in 2001.

The controversial deal between Mohammad and the Pakistani Government to enforce sharia law has sparked concern in the International community.

The cleric left Mingora later Wednesday for the nearby town of Matta, where he was hoping to meet Taliban firebrand, Maulana Fazlullah and other Taliban leaders to persuade them to disarm, according to his spokesman Amir Izzat.

No date for any meeting has been announced.

Fazlullah led his two-year bloody campaign to enforce sharia in Swat, while his father-in-law Mohammad was languished in a Pakistani jail.

Thousands of Fazlullah"""s men have spent two years beheading opponents, bombing schools, outlawing entertainment and fighting government forces in Swat, a former ski resort, causing tens of thousands of people to flee.

It remains unclear how much influence Mohammad can bring to bear over his firebrand son-in-law, who is believed to have around 3,000 armed followers. (ANI)