I was just praying secretly that the last day of May passes without another bad news; the month that commenced with a historically significant US op that ended up divulging Pakistan military’s greatest weaknesses leading to Osama’s final defeat, followed by 8 attacks, most on military and others on US, NATO and Saudi reps and disposals. My internal fear grew when Mrs Saleem Shahzad called; worried that her husband is still untraceable after being missing for 2 days. Hours later Shahzad’s brother-in-law was taken with the police to identify his body found near his car some 250 kilometres from Islamabad.
Little did I know that my harmless wish for this month to end in peace would counterattack at a spot that was close to my heart. This wasn’t the first time his life had been under threat, his coherent reporting put his life at stake many times before, including when he was captured by Taliban from Afghanistan border many years ago.
“The hallmark of his work is his uncompromising impartiality and unblinking courage to follow a story to its conclusion, no matter the dangers or sacrifices involved.” – Tony Allison, editor, Asia Times Online. His intrepid reporting gave insight on the realities of the Pak-Afghan disorder. He was one of Pakistan’s best investigative journalists and provided inimitable insights