Pakistani Military Rejects Human Rights Watch Claims On Journalist Killing Probe
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Pakistan’s military has rejected as “derogatory, biased and contradictory” criticism by Human Rights Watch (HRW) concerning the murder of a Pakistani journalist.
On January 30, HRW criticized a judicial commission for failing to name the perpetrators of last year’s murder of Saleem Shahzad.
The U.S.-based rights group said the probe’s shortcomings showed the ability of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency “to remain beyond the reach of Pakistan’s criminal justice system.”
In a response issued on February 16, Pakistan’s military supported the work of the judicial commission and accused HRW of potentially seriously jeopardizing its reputation as an objective observer with its biased report.
Shahzad, Pakistan bureau chief for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online, disappeared from Islamabad in May of last year.
His mutilated body was discovered two days later.
