Speculation that Pakistan’s military spy agency ISI had a hand in the death of a prominent journalist has further discredited the organisation already facing one of its worst crises after the killing of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil.
Saleem Shahzad, who worked for Hong-Kong based Asia Times Online and Italian news agency Adnkronos International, disappeared from Islamabad on Sunday and his body was found in a canal with what police said were torture marks.
Suspicions immediately fell on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, bringing more bad publicity after the killing of bin Laden by U.S. special forces near the capital. The raid, which Pakistan failed to detect or stop, shattered the myth that the agency is omnipotent.
“The ISI’s image had already been tarnished and it is under so much pressure,” said a former ISI officer. “It’s never been as bad as this before.”
Shahzad was investigating suspected links between the military and al Qaeda, a highly sensitive subject at a time when USA is wondering how bin Laden was able to live for years in a town about a two hour drive from ISI headquarters.
The military denies any collusion with al Qaeda.
Human Rights Watch said Shahzad, a 40-year-old father of three, had voiced concerns about his safety after receiving threatening telephone calls from the ISI and was under surveillance since 2010.
ISI officials were not available for comment. Analysts have not ruled out the possibility that he may have been killed by militants. Shahzad often wrote about al Qaeda and other groups.