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Journalism of Courage
Pakistani authorities and residents of Ajmal Amir Iman8217;s village have apparently launched efforts to cover up their links with the lone gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, days after his father admitted that the young man as shown by the media was his son.
Pakistani security and intelligence agencies have deployed a large number of personnel in plainclothes at Faridkot in Okara district of Punjab province, from where Ajmal hails, with journalists visiting the area having to face angry protests.
Ghulam Mustafa Wattoo, the Mayor of the local council who has been at the forefront of efforts to deny Iman8217;s links to the village, warned the journalists that they would be responsible for the 8220;consequences8221; if they went against the wishes of the people.
One person tried to snatch the camera and wallet of a foreign journalist and a team from a TV channel was assaulted by persons who snatched their mobile phones and digital video DV tapes and tried to smash their cameras.
Asim Rana, who was in-charge of the team, said villagers could not take DV tapes from the camera 8220;with such expertise8221; because they would not know how to extract the tapes. 8220;It clearly shows that some people from the security agencies are among the villagers, who are running the whole show,8221; Rana said. An unnamed top Pakistani politician and a senior Punjab police official had also confirmed to a foreign journalist that Iman belonged to Faridkot, 8216;The News8217; reported.
On Sunday, hundreds of people from Faridkot blocked the Dipalpur-Kasur road for about two hours to protest what they described as a media campaign 8220;wrongly linking their village8221; to Iman. During the protest, Mayor Wattoo said Iman was not a resident of the village and was not related to anyone there.
Iman8217;s father Amir Kasab admitted to the influential Dawn newspaper that the gunman shown in pictures of the attack on a train terminus in Mumbai was his son. After he spoke to the newspaper, AmirKasab and his wife Noor were moved from their home in Faridkot to an undisclosed location.
Geo News channel too has aired what it described as secretly filmed footage of Faridkot residents acknowledging that Iman belonged to the village. The residents said Iman had last visited Faridkot five to six months ago, when he told his mother he was going away for jihad.
The channel also reported that a man named Ghafoor is currently living in Amir Kasab8217;s home in Faridkot. Ghafoor has also claimed to reporters that he has been living in the house for 8220;several years8221;.
