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Saleem Shahzad

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Syed Saleem Shahzad
Born(1970-11-03)November 3, 1970
Karachi, Pakistan
DiedMay 30, 2011(2011-05-30) (aged 40)
Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan
Cause of deathTorture and Murder
Body discoveredMay 30, 2011 in Upper Jhelum canal
NationalityPakistan
CitizenshipPakistan
Alma materGovernment National College
Karachi University
OccupationJournalist
Employer(s)Asia Times Online
Adnkronos
Known forExposing links between ISI and Al Qaeda[1]
TitlePakistan Bureau Chief
SpouseAnita Saleem
ChildrenSyed Fahad Saleem
(Syeda) Amna Saleem
Syed Rahman Shah

Syed Saleem Shahzad (Urdu: سید سلیم شھزاد, November 3, 1970 – 30 May 2011) was a Pakistani investigative journalist who wrote widely for leading European and Asian media. He served as the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online (Hong Kong) and Italian news agency Adnkronos (AKI).[2] He was found dead in a canal in North-east Pakistan, showing signs of torture, two days after he was kidnapped. Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Pakistan intelligence services of being behind his killing, and US government officials later announced that they had "reliable and conclusive" intelligence that this was the case. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) denied the accusations and called them "totally unfounded."[3][4]

Family and background

Syed Saleem Shahzad was born in Karachi on November 3, 1970.[5] He was the son of Syed Shamim Akhtar (Late) and Marifa Meraj Fatima, herself the great-granddaughter of Anwari Begum (sister of Hakim Syed Karam Husain and daughter of Qazi Mir Imdad Ali).[6] Shahzad's parents arrived from India after Partition.[7] Shahzad was the elder brother of Syed Waseem Fawad[8] and Mariam Shamim/Imran.

Shahzad was a permanent resident of Karachi.[8] Shahzad had shifted to Islamabad in the middle of year 2009; which was the need of his assignments.[citation needed]

Shahzad completed Matriculation from Grand Folk's English School, Karachi.[citation needed] Shahzad earned a Bachelor Degree in Commerce from Government National College[citation needed] and Master of Arts in International Relations from Karachi University.[5] While in college, Shahzad was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing but later stopped supporting the group as too radical.[7]

Shahzad was married to Anita Ameer (Non Syeda and Shia) and the couple had three children including two sons and one daughter: Syed Fahad Saleem (son), (Syeda) Amna Saleem (daughter) and Syed Rahman Shah (son).[citation needed]

Career

Syed Saleem Shahzad covered a variety of topics through his career, including global security issues, Pakistani armed forces, Islamic movements, and Muslim resistance movements in Lebanon and Iraq. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda were the regular topics of his writing. He was an international journalist who travelled widely in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. He also wrote for Le Monde Diplomatique (France), La Stampa (Italy) and Dawn (Pakistan). He was South Asia Correspondent for Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI).[5] His opinion pieces appeared in the Qatari-based Islamonline.net and Boston Review.

He regularly interviewed Islamist militants, including Al-Qaeda members.[7] Shahzad introduced the world to hitherto unknown Al-Qaeda figures, including Sheikh Essa.[citation needed] He had interviewed several leading militants long before they became internationally known, including Sirajuddin Haqqani[9] and Qari Ziaur Rahman.[10] He also interviewed Ilyas Kashmiri[11] shortly after Ilyas was appointed chief of Al-Qaeda’s military committee.

His last book Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11, was published shortly before his death.[12]

Shahzad's work was regularly reproduced in Pakistani English dailies including the Daily Times, the Nation and The Post, and in Urdu newspapers such as Daily Mashriq and Aaj Daily. His articles were reproduced in many English dailies in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, as well as in local-language dailies. His work was often quoted in the US, Canadian and Indian press.

Saleem was an associate of the Pakistan Security Research Unit of the department of Peace Studies of the University of Bradford. In November 2006 he was held in Taliban captivity in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan for a few days. He wrote a detailed account of his days in captivity and time he spent with the Taliban in a series, "In the Land of the Taliban" published in Asia Times Online.


Just prior to his disappearance in May 2011, the journalist wrote in the Asia Times Online that al-Qaeda carried out the PNS Mehran attack after negotiations with the Navy for the release of officials, suspected of al-Qaeda links, had failed. According to Shahzad, the attackers were all from Ilyas Kashmiri's 313 Brigade of al-Qaeda.[13]

Awards and Honours

In June 2011 Shahzad was awarded the Ischia International Journalism Award.[14][15]

Syed Saleem Shahzad's name will be included on the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington in a ceremony on Monday. Monday's ceremony will honour Shahzad and 71 other journalists who last year lost their lives because of their work.[needs update] The memorial is a two-story glass structure bearing the names of reporters, photographers, editors and broadcasters who have died in the line of duty.[16]

Death

According to friends and colleagues, the ISI warned the journalist at least three times prior to his death.[7] In October 2010, Shahzad was summoned to ISI headquarters the day after publishing a sensitive article on Abdul Ghani Baradar's capture.[7] Afterwards he wrote to Human Rights Watch (HRW) predicting that he might be detained by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. According to HRW's Ali Dayan Hasan, he was "fairly sure that sooner or later something was going to happen".[17] Shahzad informed Hasan in an email that he was threatened by an ISI official who had said: "I must give you a favor. We have recently arrested a terrorist and recovered a lot of data, diaries and other material during the interrogation. The terrorist had a list with him. If I find your name in the list, I will certainly let you know."[18] In a June 2011 opinion piece for The News International, journalist Ahmed Quraishi stated the "agency’s version is very straightforward: they met Shahzad at a registered government office about a story he did and asked him either to confirm his sources or retract the story because it damaged Pakistani interests."[19] Nine days prior to his disappearance, Shahzad met with American journalist Dexter Filkins and told him, "Look, I'm in danger... I've got to get out of Pakistan."[7]

Shahzad disappeared on the evening of 29 May 2011 in Islamabad. He reportedly left his home around 5:30 pm local time that evening to take part in a TV show scheduled for 6:00 pm, but at 5:42 pm his cell phone was switched off and he failed to arrive at the television bureau. A complaint was lodged with the police the following morning.[20] Elsewhere that morning, a laborer found his body, still wearing a suit, a tie and shoes, in the Upper Jhelum Canal while the zamindar of an upstream village notified police of an abandoned Toyota Corolla that later proved to be Shahzad's.[7]

On the next day, his family members from Islamabad confirmed that he was dead, with police stating that his body had been found in a canal in Mandi Bahauddin district and his car found at Sarai Alamgir in Pakistan's northern Gujrat District, some 150 km (93 mi) south-east of the capital. His car was found about 10 km (six miles) away.[3][12][21][22]

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani ordered an immediate inquiry into the kidnapping and murder,[12] and on 3 June Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik duly announced an investigative judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court justice.[citation needed] Bowing to unprecedented demonstrations from Pakistani media, PM Gilani signed an order in the early morning hours of June 18, 2011 establishing a judicial commission, lead by Justice Main Saqib Nisar, to investigate the circumstances surrounding Shazad's death. The commission was to release its findings within six weeks.[23]

The New York Times reported on 4 July 2011 that the Obama administration had "reliable and conclusive" intelligence that implicated senior officials of the ISI in directing the death of Shahzad.[4] Subsequently Admiral Michael Mullen stated that he believed that Shahzad's killing was "sanctioned by the [Pakistani] government" but added that he did not have a "string of evidence" linking the ISI.[24][25] The Pakistani state-run news agency, Associated Press of Pakistan, said the soon-to-retire Mullen's charge was "extremely irresponsible." The Associated Press report of the APP comment went on to say:

Pakistan was the deadliest country for journalists in 2010, with at least eight killed in the line of duty, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Six died in suicide attacks, the group said in a report late last year. Despite the dangers, the media establishment in Pakistan has expanded rapidly over the past decade, and reporters here operate with freedoms denied in most developing countries. Still, many privately admit to getting occasional pressure from security and intelligence officials.[26]

The ISI strongly denied any involvement in Shahzad's death. Two days after his body was found, the intelligence agency released an official statement that described the death as "unfortunate and tragic" while maintaining that "baseless accusations against the country’s sensitive agencies for their alleged involvement in Shahzad’s murder are totally unfounded."[7]

Judicial commission investigation

A judicial commission led by Justice Saqib Nisar finalized its report investigating the circumstances around Shahzad's death on 9th January 2012 and to Prime Minister on 10th January 2012.[27] The report blamed "various belligerents in the war on terror which included the Pakistani state and non-state actors such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda and foreign actors" but stopped short of blaming any single individual or organization.[28]

HRW alleged that commission's failure to name a suspect demonstrated "the ability of the ISI to remain beyond the reach of Pakistan’s criminal justice system."[29][30] Members of the Media Commission of Pakistan (MCP) and South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) also expressed concerns over the commission's findings and suggested parliamentary oversight of the ISI.[30]

References

  1. ^ "The pox on everything else". The Express Tribune. 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  2. ^ "About Us". Asia Times Online. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad found dead". Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  4. ^ a b Perlez, Jane (2011-07-04). "Pakistan's Spies Tied to Slaying of a Journalist". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011-07-05. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c Pakistan Security Research Unit, University of Bradford: Mr Syed Saleem Shahzad
  6. ^ Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman (2008). "Pasmandgan". Hayat Karam Husain (2nd ed.). Aligarh/India: Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences. pp. 266–276. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/97889060706 |97889060706 [[Category:Articles with invalid ISBNs]]]]. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors=, |Editor=, and |month= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Filkins, Dexter (2011-09-19). "Letter from Islamabad: The Journalist and the Spies". The New Yorker. Conde Nast. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  8. ^ a b "Hundreds bury Pakistani journalist tortured to death". Dawn.com. Dawn Media Group. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  9. ^ Revolution in the Mountains. Part 3: Through the eyes of the Taliban, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times online, 5 May 2004
  10. ^ At War with the Taliban, Part 2, A fighter and a financier, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times online, 23 May 2008
  11. ^ Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times online, 15 Oct 2009
  12. ^ a b c "Missing journalist Shahzad found dead". Dawn. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  13. ^ Shahzad, Syed Saleem (27 May 2011). "Al-Qaeda had warned of Pakistan strike". Asia Times Online. Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Saleem Shahzad gets Italian journalism award". Dawn.com. Dawn Media Group. 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  15. ^ "Premio speciale Ischia alla memoria di Syed Saleem Shahzad, reporter ucciso a fine maggio in Pakistan". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  16. ^ "Pakistan: Slain Adnkronos reporter to be honoured in Washington". Chicago Tribune. Adnkronos International, Rome. 2012-05-09. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  17. ^ Waraich, Omar (2011-05-31). "Pakistan Journalist Vanishes: Is the ISI Involved?". www.time.com. Time Inc. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  18. ^ "Pakistan Journalist Vanishes: Is the ISI Involved?". Time. 31 May 2011.
  19. ^ Quraishi, Ahmed (2011-06-06). "Our anti-military mindset". The News International. The News International. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  20. ^ Anjum, Shakeel (2011-05-31). "Asia Times Pak bureau chief missing". The News International. Retrieved 2011-05-31. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "Syed Saleem Shahzad, RIP". Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  22. ^ Andrew Buncombe, in The Independent, 4 June 2011 , p.35
  23. ^ Malik Ayub Sumbal (2011-06-18). "Pakistan bows to journalists' pressure". Asia Times Online. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  24. ^ "Mullen: Pakistan government 'sanctioned' journalist's killing". CNN. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  25. ^ Adm Mullen: Pakistan 'sanctioned Saleem Shahzad murder', BBC News, 8 July 2011
  26. ^ Toosi, Nahal, "Pakistan slams US comments on slain journalist", Associated Press via San Francisco Examiner, 07/08/11 7:53 am PT. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  27. ^ "Saleem Shahzad murder: Commission to submit report to PM today". The News International. 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  28. ^ "ISI, IB should be made more accountable: commission". Dawn.com. Dawn Media Group. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  29. ^ "Rights group raps impunity for Pakistan's spies". dawn.com. AFP. 2012-01-31. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  30. ^ a b "ISI beyond reach of justice system: HRW". The Express Tribune. 2012-01-31. Retrieved January 31, 2012.

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