31 May 2011 VOA News A Pakistani journalist who wrote about possible links between Pakistan's military and al-Qaida has been found dead after being reported missing two days ago.
Syed Saleem Shahzad reported for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and the Italian news agency Adnkronos International. His relatives say his body was found Tuesday more than 200 kilometers from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Punjab province.
The 40-year old father of three was last seen leaving his home in Islamabad on Sunday to participate in a television interview.
Shahzad had recently written an article in which he alleged links between al-Qaida and the Pakistani navy, following the deadly militant attack on a naval base in Karachi on May 22.
The nearly 18-hour siege at the base brought further embarrassment to the Pakistani military, which already was reeling from the U.S. raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
A Human Rights Watch researcher in Pakistan, Ali Dayan Hasan, had earlier asserted that Shahzad was detained by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. He said Shahzad had told him about threats he had received from the spy agency.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani expressed regret over Shahzad's death and ordered an immediate investigation.
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