Missing Pak journalist found dead
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ISLAMABAD: A well-known Pakistani investigative reporter who had complained of threats from the country's Inter-Services Intelligence was found dead on Tuesday, two days after he disappeared following the publication of his articles that exposed links between Pakistan navy personnel and al-Qaida operatives.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, 40, the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia Times Online, was found dead in Punjab province about 200km from Islamabad. His body, fished out of a canal, was identified by his brother-in-law Hamza Amir. It bore marks of torture, police said, one officer adding that he had cuts on his face.
The author of "Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11" published earlier this month, Shahzad reported briefly from Pakistan for The Times of India few years back. He is survived by his widow Anila, and sons — Fahad (14), Syed Rehman (8) — and daughter Amina (12).
Soon after Shahzad went missing on Sunday evening while on the way to a TV station from his Islamabad home, a representative of Pakistan's Human Rights Watch, Ali Dayan Hasan, told the Daily Times of Pakistan that "credible sources" claimed Shahzad was apprehended by the ISI. Members of Shahzad's family told the editor of Asia Times that many of Shahzad's friends believed him to be in ISI custody and that he was "safe and would be released after 48 hours".
"He told us that if anything happened to him, we should inform the media about the situation and the threats," Hasan said.
Shahzad had on several occasions been warned by ISI officers over his reports they considered "detrimental to Pakistan's national interest".
His last report on May 29 gave details of contacts between the Pakistan navy and al-Qaida operatives and how the terror group had infiltrated the Mehran base in Karachi and helped organize the devastating attack on May 22.
Police said Shahzad's body was found near his white Toyota Corolla car at Sarai Alamghir near Jhelum town. After police informed Shahzad's family, a relative went to the site and identified the body. Shahzad's family had earlier told the media that the description provided by police did not match with that of the missing journalist, which initially led to hope that he might be alive.
While scores of angry and shocked journalists gathered at his Islamabad home to pay their last respects, there was no word from the government or the army on the killing and neither did any authority visit his home. Pakistani journalists have planned a rally in Islamabad on Wednesday to protest the killing of Shahzad.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, 40, the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia Times Online, was found dead in Punjab province about 200km from Islamabad. His body, fished out of a canal, was identified by his brother-in-law Hamza Amir. It bore marks of torture, police said, one officer adding that he had cuts on his face.
The author of "Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11" published earlier this month, Shahzad reported briefly from Pakistan for The Times of India few years back. He is survived by his widow Anila, and sons — Fahad (14), Syed Rehman (8) — and daughter Amina (12).
Soon after Shahzad went missing on Sunday evening while on the way to a TV station from his Islamabad home, a representative of Pakistan's Human Rights Watch, Ali Dayan Hasan, told the Daily Times of Pakistan that "credible sources" claimed Shahzad was apprehended by the ISI. Members of Shahzad's family told the editor of Asia Times that many of Shahzad's friends believed him to be in ISI custody and that he was "safe and would be released after 48 hours".
"He told us that if anything happened to him, we should inform the media about the situation and the threats," Hasan said.
Shahzad had on several occasions been warned by ISI officers over his reports they considered "detrimental to Pakistan's national interest".
His last report on May 29 gave details of contacts between the Pakistan navy and al-Qaida operatives and how the terror group had infiltrated the Mehran base in Karachi and helped organize the devastating attack on May 22.
Police said Shahzad's body was found near his white Toyota Corolla car at Sarai Alamghir near Jhelum town. After police informed Shahzad's family, a relative went to the site and identified the body. Shahzad's family had earlier told the media that the description provided by police did not match with that of the missing journalist, which initially led to hope that he might be alive.
While scores of angry and shocked journalists gathered at his Islamabad home to pay their last respects, there was no word from the government or the army on the killing and neither did any authority visit his home. Pakistani journalists have planned a rally in Islamabad on Wednesday to protest the killing of Shahzad.
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