“THE unfortunate and tragic death of Syed Saleem Shahzad was a source of concern for the entire nation but the incident should not be used to target and malign the country’s security agencies”, an ISI official said on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job.

…“[The official] said it was regrettable that some sections of the media had taken upon themselves to use the incident for targeting and maligning the ISI. ‘Baseless accusations against the country’s sensitive agencies for their alleged involvement in Shahzad’s murder are totally unfounded.

“‘In the absence of any evidence, and when an investigation is still pending, such allegations [are] tantamount to unprofessional conduct on the part of the media,’ he added.

…“At the same time, [the ISI official] said, the media should act with responsibility to avoid any possible legal course. ‘It [the media] should refrain from baseless allegations against the ISI that seek to deliberately malign the organisation in the eyes of the people of Pakistan.’”

I have just chosen four paragraphs here from a longer news story that was released by the country’s official news agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan, and you can read it in its entirety in this paper’s June 2 edition. That is, of course, if you missed it in the first place.

What’s your reaction to this statement? You wouldn’t be blamed for being sceptical. Who would, given the perceptions about the agency? But read the statement carefully. Have you found the most significant bit?

Yes, the ‘irresponsible’ among the media men and women are now being threatened with ‘possible legal course’ which, I am assuming, means that if we continue accusing the ISI of doing nasty things without proof we’ll be made to answer in court.

Fair enough, if the ISI seeks legal recourse. All are equal before the law. A summons to answer a defamation/libel case is decidedly a better option as long as the midnight knock stops, as long as a twin-cabin pick-up with darkened windows doesn’t push you against the kerb.

But even then one assumes silence is not sought as none will be offered. To ask questions about a murdered colleague, who was so brutally tortured that life was squeezed out of him, would not amount to ‘deliberately maligning’ anybody.To discuss the ‘modus operandi’ of his kidnappers and murderers would also be in order. I wouldn’t even bother to mention similar kidnappings in Balochistan, Sindh and other parts of the country, even in Islamabad itself, but will restrict myself to just three cases in the capital.

One remembers Umar Cheema’s incident from last autumn and Saleem Shahzad’s murder is still a fresh wound. Reproduced below is a press report from March 29, 2000, carried in The News.

“ISLAMABAD: Five unidentified persons kidnapped Shakil Shaikh, chief reporter of The News, at gunpoint in broad daylight on Wednesday from near the main commercial centre of Islamabad and beat him severely for three and a half hours before abandoning him in a deserted village some miles away.

“Shakil sustained multiple injuries including head injury when he was hit with the butt of an AK-47. His hands were tied with a thick rope. Several parts of his body turned blue and black due to the severe beating he got from attackers with gun butts and boots. His shoulders had full imprints of boot heels.

“The armed men, following Shakil’s car in a high-powered jeep bearing no registration number, forcibly stopped him on the Kashmir Highway near the Margalla Motel, less than a mile from the main Aabpara centre of Islamabad. They immediately put a cloth on his face and tied his hands. They threw him in their jeep and started beating him severely.

“The unknown persons drove Shakil to a deserted area near the Soan Garden housing scheme, a few miles away from the airport turning on the Islamabad Highway but kept beating him all the way and later for over three hours.

“After the beating stopped, Shakil somehow untied his hands, removed the mask and found himself in a deserted place. He found his car standing nearby, driven by one of the attackers. His clothes were torn and stained with blood.”

Spot any similarities in the manner of violence, the injuries inflicted on the two journalists even if ultimately the result was tragically different? Leaving aside the details/merits of their reports or who they may have angered and why, Shakeel Shaikh, Umar Cheema and Saleem Shahzad all wrote stories about the defence forces in the week or so preceding their kidnapping.

If it is realistic to assume that law and justice would amount to more than a distant concept in Pakistan one day, perhaps we’ll find out why the first two were beaten and freed and Saleem Shahzad was to be battered till there was no life left in him. Or maybe we’ll find out if the ISI delivers on its stated promise of ‘leaving no stone unturned’ to find the journalist’s killers.

A forensic investigator will definitely be better placed to say for sure. To my journalist’s eye these incidents and others that have been omitted for brevity’s sake look like the work of a deranged serial criminal because each seems to follow the same pattern.

I leave you with a question: What do you think is common between Safdar Kiani, Khurshid Ansari, Nazima Talib, Fazal Bari, Amanat Ali Baig, Mohammad Sarwar, Mumtaz Haidar Naqvi and last but not least Saba Dashtiari?

All eight were professors teaching at various institutions of higher learning in Balochistan and are among the 30 teachers to have been murdered in the province over the past three years.

The writer is a former editor of Dawn.

abbas.nasir@hotmail.com