Saleem Shahzad buried in Karachi | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Saleem Shahzad buried in Karachi

KARACHI: Syed Saleem Shahzad – the journalist and author who went missing on Sunday evening in Islamabad and whose body, bearing signs of torture, was found buried in a graveyard some 150km from the capital on Tuesday – was laid to rest in a graveyard in the Defence Housing Authority on Wednesday afternoon.

The funeral prayers offered earlier at Jamia Masjid Mubarak were attended by hundreds of people, including family members, friends, fellow journalists and political leaders.

Speaking to Dawn at the funeral and later at the Karachi Press Club, senior professionals representing the community of journalists said Shahzad had been tortured to death. That`s why it was the government`s responsibility to investigate his killing thoroughly.

At a press conference at the press club, office-bearers of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists announced two days of mourning and a spokesman said members would organise nationwide protests on Friday.

They said that if the perpetrators of the crime were not named within a fortnight, journalists from across the country would converge on the Parliament House in Islamabad on June 15 and hold a sit-in there.

“I can`t blame anyone at the moment. I`ll analyse the whole episode before making any statement,” Wasim Fawad, a brother of Shahzad, told AFP.

“My brother was killed for writing the truth. He paid a huge price, he sacrificed his life but always spoke the truth.”

Shahzad carved out a career writing about the plethora of militant networks operating in the country, and warned human rights campaigners before his disappearance that he had been receiving threats.

His soyem will be held on Thursday between Asr and Maghrib prayers at Mubarak Masjid for men and for women at his residence in Florida Homes, behind Seaview township, in DHA society.
Source: Dawn
Date:6/2/2011