Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Asma Jahangir on Tuesday condemned renowned journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad’s murder after being kidnapped by unidentified men. Asma urged the federal government to conduct a complete inquiry into Shahzad’s murder and expose the forces behind his killing. She expressed concerns over the fragile security situation in Pakistan where life and property of citizens is not safe at all and people go missing and are then killed on a daily basis by unidentified men. The SCBA president said that Shahzad had committed no wrong except that he was performing his professional duties honestly.
Asma said that the journalist had published a couple of investigative news reports against al Qaeda and the Taliban and was also working on a book on the working and operation of the Taliban and al Qaeda.
She said that Shahzad’s killing speaks volumes about the conditions in Pakistan in wake of the unsatisfactory working of security agencies, which are unable to protect people. Shahzad was the Pakistan bureau chief of Asia Times Online and some days before his disappearance, he had written an article on alleged links between navy officials and al Qaeda.
