Tuesday, May 31, 2011


Slain scribe was warned by ISI over terror reports




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 ofPakistan 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.

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