Islamabad: Journalists in Pakistan have
been allowed to carry small fire-arms for self-defence in the
wake of the murder of scribe Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pakistan
Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday said.
He also promised to probe allegations about ISI's
involvement in his abduction.
Malik's assurance came while speaking to the media
after visiting Shahzad's residence in Islamabad.
At the same time, Malik said the journalist's murder
could be a "case of personal enmity".
Ali Dayan Hasan, the Human Rights Watch representative
in Pakistan, has told the media that he suspected that Shahzad
had been picked up by the ISI.
Shahzad, 40, who worked for an Italian news agency
and an online news website registered in Hong Kong, went
missing on Sunday. His body was found at Mandi Bahauddin in
Punjab province.
Shahzad disappeared two days after writing in an
investigative report in Asia Times Online that al Qaeda
carried out a recent attack on a naval airbase in Karachi to
avenge the arrest of naval officials suspected of having links
to the terrorist group.
Malik said Shahzad's family was not satisfied with the
autopsy report and had demanded that a second post-mortem
examination should be conducted.
"Though another autopsy is not possible, a medical
board can be formed to carry out investigations," he said.
Pakistani journalists, like the army, are battling
negative forces, Malik said.
To ensure their safety, orders have been issued to
allow journalists to carry small arms for self-defence, he
said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, June 01, 2011, 18:29