Syed Saleem Shahzad

Syed Saleem Shahzad was a Pakistani investigative journalist who wrote widely for leading European and Asian media. He served as the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online (Hong Kong) and Italian news agency Adnkronos (AKI). He was found dead in a canal in North-east Pakistan, showing signs of torture, a day after he was kidnapped. An American-based non-governmental organization called Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Pakistan intelligence services of being behind his killing, and the CIA later announced that they had "reliable and conclusive" intelligence that this was the case. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) denied the accusations and called them "totally unfounded". Shahzad covered a variety of topics through his career, including global security issues, Pakistani armed forces, Islamic movements, and Muslim resistance movements in Lebanon and Iraq. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda were the regular topics of his writing. He was an international journalist who travelled widely in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. He also wrote for Le Monde Diplomatique (France), La Stampa (Italy) and Dawn (Pakistan). He was South Asia Correspondent for Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI). His opinion pieces appeared in the Qatari-based Islamonline.net and Boston Review. He regularly interviewed Islamist militants, including Al-Qaeda members. Shahzad introduced the world to hitherto unknown Al-Qaeda figures, including Sheikh Essa. He had interviewed several leading militants long before they became internationally known, including Sirajuddin Haqqani and Qari Ziaur Rahman. He also wrote a book titled Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9 ,11, which was published shortly before his death. He was awarded the Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism in 2004. He was born on 3 November 1970 in Karachi, Pakistan. He earned a Master of Arts in International Relations from Karachi University. While in college, Shahzad was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing but later stopped supporting the group as too radical. He received countless threats over the years, most of which were attributed to Pakistani intelligence agencies who warned him to stay away from controversial issues. He was kidnapped in Islamabad on 29 May 2011 and his body was discovered and identified in an irrigation canal in Mandi Bahauddin on 30 May 2011. He was buried on 1 June 2011 in Karachi. He is regarded as one of the fearless and influential journalists in Pakistan.