Slain journalist : Probe commission wants Saleem Shahzad’s records preserved
Public asked to share information about the journalist by July 5.
LAHORE:
The judicial commission constituted to probe into the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad started proceedings on Monday.
The commission, which convened its first session at the Supreme Court registry in Lahore, directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to preserve all of Shahzad’s records.
Head of the commission, Supreme Court judge Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and other members, Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafique Ahmad Khan, Punjab and Islamabad’s inspector generals of police, Javed Iqbal and Binyamin respectively, and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists’ president Parvez Shaukat attended the proceedings.
The federal secretary for information and secretary of the commission, Taimoor Azmat Usman, also joined the hearing and produced available record.
“The commission directed the FIA to access emails of the murdered journalist and produce them before the commission at the next hearing on July 6,” Usman told journalists at the end of the proceedings.
He added that the commission had directed the PTA chairman to produce a complete record of calls made and received on Saleem Shahzad’s cell phone.
Usman said that a secretariat of the commission had been established at Pakistan Television’s Islamabad centre. He added that if any of the deceased journalist’s relatives, friends, journalists or the general public had any information, they should submit it before the commission by July 5. He said that the commission had directed both IGPs to continue investigations and keep the commission informed about the progress.
Speaking to the media, PFUJ president Pervez Shaukat said he was satisfied with the commission, but did not give details of the discussions. Shaukat said the commission will achieve the desired results if the proceedings are kept secret.
Meanwhile, the federal government has asked provincial governments as well as police and other law-enforcement agencies to ensure the security of journalists, The Express Tribune learnt on Monday.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ASAD KHARAL IN LAHORE)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2011.
The judicial commission constituted to probe into the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad started proceedings on Monday.
The commission, which convened its first session at the Supreme Court registry in Lahore, directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to preserve all of Shahzad’s records.
Head of the commission, Supreme Court judge Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and other members, Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafique Ahmad Khan, Punjab and Islamabad’s inspector generals of police, Javed Iqbal and Binyamin respectively, and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists’ president Parvez Shaukat attended the proceedings.
The federal secretary for information and secretary of the commission, Taimoor Azmat Usman, also joined the hearing and produced available record.
“The commission directed the FIA to access emails of the murdered journalist and produce them before the commission at the next hearing on July 6,” Usman told journalists at the end of the proceedings.
He added that the commission had directed the PTA chairman to produce a complete record of calls made and received on Saleem Shahzad’s cell phone.
Usman said that a secretariat of the commission had been established at Pakistan Television’s Islamabad centre. He added that if any of the deceased journalist’s relatives, friends, journalists or the general public had any information, they should submit it before the commission by July 5. He said that the commission had directed both IGPs to continue investigations and keep the commission informed about the progress.
Speaking to the media, PFUJ president Pervez Shaukat said he was satisfied with the commission, but did not give details of the discussions. Shaukat said the commission will achieve the desired results if the proceedings are kept secret.
Meanwhile, the federal government has asked provincial governments as well as police and other law-enforcement agencies to ensure the security of journalists, The Express Tribune learnt on Monday.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ASAD KHARAL IN LAHORE)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2011.