Pakistani ambassador mourns slain journalist

During a condolence meeting convened by Pakistani reporters in the United States on June 6 at the National Press Club, Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani mourned the death of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, stating that his passing diminishes the humanity of everyone and that he was grieved that Pakistan has become a battlefield.

Shahzad,an Islamabad-based investigative journalist,was found dead in his abandoned car 100 km north of Islamabad on May 31. Shahzad called Haqqani a few days before he was killed, Haqqani said. A journalist himself before being appointed to his post in Washington, Haqqani was kidnapped, blindfolded and beaten up in 1999 because of his reporting.

At the meeting, Club President Mark Hamrick urged Pakistani authorities to enforce a safe passage for journalists and investigate Shahzad's case. Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch, testified that a few days before being killed, Shahzad knew that he was targeted and contacted his organization.

Representatives of groups that defend press freedom worldwide --the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists and the France-based Reporters Without Borders -- also participated in the event.

Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, denounced the fact that Shahzad's murder was committed in cold blood and that except for the case of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, there is a perfect record of impunity for killers of journalists.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Shahzad's death brings to 16 the number of journalists killed in the past 15 months in Pakistan, which is now the deadliest country for reporters.

Speaking on behalf of the Pakistani-journalist community in the United States, Anwar Iqbal, Washington correspondent for the Pakistani publication Dawn, called on Pakistani authorities to bring the people responsible of Shahzad's murder to justice, protect his family members, ensure the safety of journalists and media workers and end human rights violations in Pakistan.