Missing Pak journo found dead in Punjab

From Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad (PTI) - Prominent journalist Syed
Saleem Shahzad, who went missing in the Pakistani capital over
the weekend, was found dead in Punjab province Tuesday with
his body bearing marks of torture, police said.
Two days before he went missing, Shahzad had written
an article in which he contended that Al Qaida attacked a
naval airbase in Karachi after failed talks with the navy to
release some arrested naval personnel who had terror links.
Shahzad, 40, was the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia
Times Online and a correspondent for Italian news agency
Adnkronos International.
Shahzad, the author of "Inside Al Qaida and Taliban:
Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11," had alleged the attack was mainly
in response to an internal clampdown on Al Qaida affiliates
within the Pakistan Navy.
He was reported missing on Sunday evening shortly
after he left his home in Islamabad for a television station
to record a programme.
Reports earlier in the day said a body had been found
near Shahzad's car at Sarai Alamghir near Jhelum town, about
200 km from Lahore.
After police informed Shahzad's family, a relative
went to the site and identified his body.
Police said Shahzad's body bore marks of torture.
An autopsy report stated that there were marks of
torture on Shahzad's torso and face, Geo News channel
reported. The channel beamed a black and white photo of the
journalist's face with visible injuries.
An Islamabad Police spokesman too confirmed that
Shahzad's body had been found in a canal.
A murder case had been registered and his body was
buried after an autopsy, the spokesman said.
Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, had
said shortly after Shahzad was reported missing that they
believed he was in the custody of Pakistani intelligence
agencies.
The International Federation of Journalists and the
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists had appealed to the
government to order security agencies to trace Shahzad.
No group claimed responsibility for the killing and
Shahzad's family said he had no enmity with anyone.
Shazad had shifted from Karachi to Islamabad two years
back and his reporting mostly focussed on militant
organisations, including banned groups and Al Qaida.
The report said naval intelligence had traced an Al
Qaida-linked cell operating inside several naval bases in
Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and key port.
Micro-blogging website Twitter was flooded with
reactions expressing shock as soon as news broke of Shahzad's
death.
Farahnaz Ispahani, a spokesperson for President Asif
Ali Zardari, wrote: "A terrible sickness has permeated our
society. Saleem Shahzad was a friend, colleague and intrepid
reporter. Answers are needed."
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed "deep
grief and sorrow" over the death of Shahzad and ordered an
immediate inquiry into his kidnapping and murder.
Gilani said those responsible for the killing "would
be brought to book at every cost."
"The present government strongly believes in the
freedom of expression and considers freedom of media as an
essential ingredient to strengthen democratic values and
culture," he said.
Months before his death, Shahzad sent an email to
Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch in October 2010 with the
words: "I am forwarding this email to you for your record only
if in case something happens to me or my family in future."
In the email, Shahzad said he had been called to the
Inter-Services Intelligence headquarters on October 17, 2010
for a meeting with between Media Wing Director General Rear
Admiral Adnan Nazir and Commodore Khalid Pervaiz, Deputy
Director General of the Media Wing.
Shahzad said the ISI officials had called him to
discuss a report he had written two days earlier in which he
said Pakistan had freed Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Abdul
Ghani Baradar so that he could play a role in "back channel
talks through the Pakistani army with Washington."
The journalist told Nazir that the story was leaked
by "an intelligence channel" and that he had published it only
after confirming it with a "most credible Taliban source".
Nazir was of the view that the report caused a lot of
embarrassment for Pakistan and suggested Shahzad should issue
a denial.
Shahzad wrote in his email that he had refused to
comply with Nazir's demand and described it as impractical.
At the end of the meeting, Shahzad quoted Nazir as
saying: "I must give you a favor. We have recently arrested a
terrorist and have recovered a lot of data, dairies and other
material during the interrogation. The terrorist had a hit
list with him. If I find your name in the list, I will
certainly let you know."