Pak scribe murder probe fails to provide answers at end of deadline

Lahore, Aug 6 (ANI): A judicial commission formed to probe the murder of Pakistan scribe Saleem Shehzad has failed draw any conclusion at the end of its six -week deadline.

Asia Times Online Bureau Chief Shehzad went missing from Islamabad on May 29. His body with dozen marks of torture, was found two days later at Mandi Bahauddin, about 130 kilometres south east of Islamabad.

The commission's request to extend the deadline of its probe has been forwarded to the concerned authorities, the sources said.

The five-member commission comprises Pakistan Supreme Court judge Mian Saqib Nisar, Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Justice Agha Rafiq, Police Punjab Inspector General, Islamabad Police Inspector General and Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Pervez Shaukat.

The commission was asked to "inquire into the background and circumstance of abduction and subsequent murder of Saleem Shahzad, to indentify the culprits involved in the abduction and subsequent murder of the said journalist, and recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such gruesome incidents against journalists in future."

A member Shaukat said the commission had recorded the statements of various officials and has given some directions to the investigators.

"Some new aspects have surfaced after visiting the scene of the crime and recording statements of certain individuals," the Express Tribune quoted him, as saying.

However, it was yet to record important witnesses statements, including Sehzad's wife and Human Rights Watch Director Ali Dayan Hassan.

Ali Dayan Hassan said he has not yet recorded his statements with the commission as he is out of Pakistan and that he would appear before the commission soon. (ANI)