Journalist’s murder mystery unresolved
ISLAMABAD: The murder of Muhammad Ismail Malik, bureau chief of the Pakistan Press International news agency, whose body was found in the green area near Super Market on Wednesday still remains unresolved. Police on Thursday arrested a suspect, Muhammad Nasir, who ran a junkyard outside which the body was found, Senior Superintendent of Police Sikandar Hayat told Daily Times on Thursday.
Nasir’s younger brother Muhammad Shafiq, who had informed the police about the body, is already in police custody. Both men have been shifted to an undisclosed location where they are being interrogated, sources said. The investigation team also got the record of the phone calls Malik had made from his office a few minutes before leaving for an evening walk. The police are tracking the incoming and outgoing calls from the number.
A member of the investigation team, on condition of anonymity, told Daily Times that the culprit could be a low-profile person having close links with Malik as the deceased could only visit the place where his body was found for some close person or a personal reason. Interior Ministry Secretary Syed Kamal Shah told reporters at his office that a six-member team headed by himself had been constituted on the directives of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The services of the Special Investigation Group (SIG) have also been sought. He said no time frame could be given for the completion of the investigation at the moment. He vowed to bring the culprits to justice.
The team includes Inspector General of Islamabad Police Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed, Islamabad SSP Sikandar Hayat, SP (investigation) Ishfaq Ahmed, Federal Investigation Authority Commandant Mirza Yasin, Deputy Commandant Khalid Qureshi and Assistant Superintendent of Police Muhammad Adil.
Online adds:
Malik was buried in his native village of Dawara Sanjwal in Attock district on Thursday. The body of the 50-year-old was found lying on a green belt on Wednesday. His funeral prayers were led by former provincial minister Qari Saeedur Rehman and was attended by people from all walks of life.
Federal Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, former ministers Malik Hakimeen Khan, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, Malik Muhammad Aslam Khan, MPA Syed Ijaz Bukhari, City Nazim Rana Shaukat Ali and journalists of Attock district, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar attended the funeral.
Malik Ismail had been in journalism for 30 years. He started his career from Attock and later shifted to Islamabad and served various media organisations. The people who attended the funeral condemned the incident and termed it a barbaric act. They demanded that the government to arrest his killer and provide monetary assistance to the victim’s family. Malik is the third Pakistani journalist and the 12th man to be murdered in Islamabad in a month. None of the murderers have been traced yet.
Source: Daily Times
Date:11/3/2006
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