Malik Mohammad Ismail Khan (1953-2006)
Early Life:
A veteran Pakistani journalist and Resident Editor/Bureau Chief of an independent national news agency Pakistan Press International, Islamabad Malik Mohammad Ismail Khan was born on the 14th of February 1953, in the village Daurdad Tehsil and District Attock and was brutally murdered in his age of fifty three on the night of 31st October 2006 under mysterious circumstances in Islamabad the federal capital of Pakistan.
His father Late Muhammad Yaqoob Khan was an active member for the Movement of Pakistan and was a true follower of "Quaid-e-Azam-Mohammad Ali Jinnah" and "Mother of Nation-Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah". He gave support to Fatima Jinnah (Sister of Quaid-e-Azam) as an elected member of Electoral College of Pakistan from his district Attock (then Campbellpur) against Gen. Ayub Khan in presidential elections and faced false cases but did not bow down.
Career:
After completion of his education Muhammad Ismail started his career in journalism as a correspondent of Pakistan Press International (PPI), and daily "Taameer", from Attock (then Campbellpur) in 1976. He was a staff reporter of the daily The Muslim, Pakistan Times, and The Frontier Post. Later on he joined (PPI) as a senior staff reporter at Islamabad Office. He worked as a Bureau Chief of PPI News Agency in Peshawar, Bureau Chief daily the "Frontier Post" in Islamabad, Special Correspondent, Editorial writer and Columnist of the daily "Mashriq", Editor Monthly "Overseas" Islamabad, Founder Chief Reporter and Editor Reporting "Online News Agency", Bureau Chief and Resident Editor of PPI News Agency, and worked as a script writer for Radio Pakistan.
He was very well known, honest, upright, fearless and a conscientious journalist who was widely admired and respected in the community of journalism for his professionalism and qualities of character.
He had no enmity and personal conflict with anyone. He had a very good reputation as an accommodative and well-mannered person in the community of journalism. He was a democrat and thorough gentleman who always worked for the positive image of "independent journalism" in Pakistan.
Marriage and family life:
He got married in 1977 with, the daughter of the prominent poet late Syed Majid-ul-Baqree (R) Deputy Director of Information (Punjab). His father-in-law was appointed as District Information Officer in Attock at that time. Malik Ismail left behind a wife, two sons, ailing mother, granddaughter, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends and a large number well-wishers.
His Both sons are well educated and well mannered. One is living in the UK and the other was living in Pakistan with him.
He was a much loved and respected, son, brother, husband, father, uncle and grandfather, he will be dearly missed and his family will not be able to come to terms with how he died until his killers are found and punished. It is more terrible sad for his family members, friends, well-wishers, journalist community and people of his area (Attock) that his killers have not been caught.
Tragic Death:
According to his colleagues he looked and behaved normally that day. He did not seem in any way disturbed by any threats. At the same day, in the evening he had been attended a function in Turkish Embassy which was last assignment of his professional life. His colleagues who met him there and one of them who dropped out side of his office said that he looked very normal and didn’t not share or discuss about any threat and fear.
He was murdered when he went out from his office approximately at 9:30pm on 31/10/2006 for a walk and his dead body was found from the green belt area (Jungle) of F-6/1, some 30/40 feet away from Shaheed-e-Millat Road, opposite Super Market not so far away from his office (PPI), on 1 November 2006, in the morning as an unknown person, while his waistcoat was near his body and his identity cards, press card, visiting cards, telephone note book, cash, cheques and glasses (for vision) were in the pocket. Whilst police stated, that, his waistcoat was found by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) later on, in the day and they contacted his office (PPI) Islamabad in the afternoon, and PPI staff told his family members about the incident after 2pm.
His family members, journalist community of twin cities, Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Mr. Mohammad Ali Durrani, Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Principal Information Officer (PIO), Mr. Ishfaq Ahmad Gondal, Central Secretary Finance of PPP, Senator Doctor Babar Awan, Spokesman of PPP and its Chairperson Mohtarma Banazir Bhutto, Senator (Retired) Farhatullah Babar, Central Secretary Coordination of PPP and ex Minister, Senator (Retired) Malik Hakmeen Khan,and many other politicians from different political parties and Lawyers rushed towards the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where his dead body was in the mortuary.
There are mysterious circumstances surrounding his death because he had no enmity with anyone, plus it could not have been a mugging as his wallet was intact except for his mobile phone, which is still missing. Medico legal officer of PIMS, Doctor Khawaja Waseem who did the autopsy stated that it was a “target killing” and there were very clear marks being tied with rope on his both wrists, whilst the police said, that they tied his hands before taking his body to the hospital.
Protest at his brutal Murder:
Journalist community of Islamabad offered his Funeral Prayer on 1 November at 6:30pm in front of office of the Daily Dawn, which was attended by Politicians, Ministers, Parliamentarians and people from different walk of life. The next day on 2 November he was buried in his native graveyard of Village Daurdad (Attock) where his Funeral prayer was offered by thousands of people from different walks of life including Ministers, Parliamentarians, journalists, lawyers, religious scholars and notable personalities of Districts Attock, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar, which was led by former Provincial Minister and prominent religious scholar Qari Saeed-ur-Rehman, Principal Jamia Islamia, Kashmir road Rawalpindi Cantt. Brutal murder of a Senior Journalist was widely condemned throughout the country by politicians, journalists, lawyers, social workers and other people of different walks of life. Parliamentarians of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) submitted an 'adjournment motion' in the National Assembly of Pakistan to seeking discussion about the murder of Veteran Journalist, while Provincial Assembly of NWFP condemned his brutal killing and paid rich tributes to him in a resolution.
District Council Attock and Union Council Golra (Tehsil Attock) arranged special meetings to remember the srvices of Malik Ismail, and paying rich tributes to him and announced Peoples Colony Attock City Chowk and Daurdad link road, as "Malik Mohammad Ismail Shaheed" Chowk and Road. Both houses strongly condemned the murder of a senior journalist and appealed to Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shaukat Aziz, and Federal Interior Minister Mr. Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, for immediate arrest of actual murderers of a veteran journalist.
Journalist’s national and international organisations including Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), International Federation of Journalist (IFJ), Reporters without Borders, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ), Press Clubs and Union of Journalists of all cities strongly condemned the murder of a senior journalist and demanded a thorough investigation and early arrest of the murderers.The journalist community throughout the country staged demonstrations against the murder of a veteran journalist in different cities of Pakistan including, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Hazro, Kamra, Hassanabdal, Fatehjang, Jand, Talagang, Chakwal, Jhelum, Lahore, Gujarkhan, Murree, Gujranwala, Lahore, Tarbella, Peshawar, Haripur, Muzafarabad, Mirpur, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkar, MirpurKhas, Quetta etc.
Former Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the murder of Mr. Ismail, and paid rich tributes to him.
Even though the government officials have claimed that they will find the murderers very soon, but up until now the murderers are still at large.
Comments by his fellow Editors/ Senior Journalists based at Islamabad:
Mohsin Baig
Editor-in-Chief, OnLine News Agency:
Malik Ismail was an excellent reporter. His passion for journalism and promoting human values merged perfectly.
Zafar Abbas
Resident Editor, Daily Dawn:
Though I did not work with Malik Ismail in any newspaper organisation, I had a good acquaintance with the slain journalist. I found Malik Sahab a very amazing and soft-spoken personality. He never got himself involved in controversies. He had enjoyed a good reputation and led a life like a real gentleman.
Farooq Faisal Khan
Editor daily Express:
Malik Ismail was a respectable upright journalist, who was committed to his profession. He was humble, decent and no doubts a man of integrity. He had a very deep insight over the groups’ politics in the Punjab.
Javed Siddique
Resident Editor daily Nawaiwa-e-Waqat:
Malik Sahab had a very charming personality. He was a very competent journalist having a vast experience of reporting and editing. He was a thorough gentleman.
Sohail Iqbal
Editor, Online International News Network:
We worked together in daily The Frontier Post and Online news agency for several years. During my association of over 16 years with Malik Sahab, I found him a thorough professional, an upright journalist and a man of integrity with humble personality. The veteran journalist was known for his commitment to promote true image of journalism.
Mohammad Yasin
Senior Journalist:
Without any exaggeration, I would say that we’ve lost a true journalist and a nice friend. Malik sahab belonged to a rare breed of journalists, who always preferred principles to personal gains.
Rana Qaisar
Bureau Chief Daily Times:
Malik Ismail was a decent human being and man of integrity.
Qaiser Mahmood Butt
Former Editor of The Frontier Post:
We worked together with The Frontier Post, Peshawar and Mashriq for about 13 years. I found him a very honest, competent and honest worker. He was a genuine man of integrity with high credentials as a journalist.
Farhatullah Babar
Pakistan Peoples Party Spokesman and Former Editor The Frontier Post:
I first met with Malik Ismail when he used to work for The Frontier Post about two decades ago. I found him upright, honest and competent journalist. I was impressed by his constant endeavour to learn and improve his professional understanding and he always persisted the clarity and curiousity that made him a true newsman.
Naveed Miraj
Bureau Chief of The Statesman:
Malik Sahab was a polite person and had a rich experience in journalism.
Aamir Yasin
Feature Writer Weekly Pulse:
If one sentence can sum up the life and work of Malik Mohammad Ismail, a senior journalist who was murdered in Islamabad, it should be he was an honest person, a thorough gentleman and a committed newsman. His friends and colleagues, as a very humble soul and a committed journalist, recall Malik Ismail.
ENDS:
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