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Journalists Killed in 2009 - Motive Confirmed: Musa Khankhel

Geo TV and The News
February 18, 2009, in Swat, Pakistan

No one claimed responsibility for the killing of Khankhel, who died in the first violation of a truce called two days earlier between the government and local militant groups, according to local and international news reports. Khankhel was targeted while covering a peace march led by Muslim cleric Sufi Muhammad, father-in-law of local Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, the reports said. Muhammad was seeking to recruit his son-in-law to join a cease-fire agreement he had negotiated with the government.

Geo Managing Director Azhar Abbas told CPJ that Khankhel had become separated from the rest of his four-person reporting team in a militant-controlled area near the town of Matta.

He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and back of the head, Abbas said. A BBC report citing Khankhel's brother said the journalist had been abducted at gunpoint from the peace march, and that his hands and feet were bound when his body was discovered.

Khankhel was native to the region and had worked for Geo for five years, with a reputation as an aggressive and courageous reporter, local journalists told CPJ. He also filed for the Geo-affiliated daily The News.

Topics: Freedom of expression,