Condolence meeting for Saleem Shahzad in Washington today
Wajid Ali Syed
WASHINGTON: Representatives of the Pakistani media in the US, along with Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontiers (Reporters Without Borders) and Human Rights Watch, will hold a condolence meeting in Washington DC at the National Press Club on Monday (today) to show support for Saleem Shahzad’s family and Pakistan journalists who continue to risk their lives under the most treacherous of circumstances.
Members of the leading organizations working for the betterment of journalists will call upon the world to remember the terrible risks faced by journalists in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani will also address the gathering.
The abduction and murder of Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad has received international condemnation. Saleem Shahzad was well known in Pakistan for his articles alleging links between the Pakistani military and al-Qaeda. He was abducted and tortured to death in Pakistan last week, apparently for writing stories that enraged jihadi organizations and their supporters. Shahzad’s fate underscores the dangers faced by brave journalists in Pakistan.
In 2010, ten journalists were killed in Pakistan. So far this year, three journalists have lost their lives. Pakistan is often described as the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist where they are often harassed, tortured and even killed for performing what they are required to do: report what they see and hear.
Caught between militants, the Army and intelligence agencies, journalists are among Pakistan’s true heroes. They are willing to pay the ultimate price to tell the truth. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement about Mr. Shahzad’s murder last week. ‘His work reporting on terrorism and intelligence issues in Pakistan brought to light the troubles extremism poses to Pakistan’s stability,’ she said. Secretary Clinton said Washington welcomed Pakistan’s launch of an investigation into the killing.
Source: The News
Date:6/6/2011
” 
” 
” 
” 
