Ambassador Haqqani pledges probe into killing of journalist

WASHINGTON: Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani on Monday reaffirmed the governments' commitment to investigate the killing of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad.

He was speaking at a condolence meeting, organized by Pakistan-American Media Forum, which was attended by a number of US-based Pakistani journalists, representatives of Human Rights Watch, Reporters Sans Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists and president of Washington's National Press Club.

Ambassador Haqqani said he joins the jounralistic community in condoling the tragic death of Shahzad and expressing outrage at the treatment meted out to him. Pakistan, he said, is facing a big challenge in the form of violent extremism and stressing a larger persepctive underlined that this is not the time for "finger-pointing" and talking in terms of "us and them."

The Pakistani society is suffering - not only the journalists but political leaders including Shaheed prime minister Benazair Bhutto, Governor Salman Taseer and Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, and even religious leaders have been targetted.

He sounded confident that Pakistan would come out of this state of conflict but urged that the people have to face and stand up to the reality that they have to strive for a pluralist society.

Anwar Iqba, Washington Correspondent for Dawn newspaper, conducted the proceedings. Journalists including Masood Haider and Khawar Rizvi also spoke at the meeting, which adopted a resolution urging a probe into the killing of Shahzad and measures to ensure protection for members of his the deceased jouralist's family.

Bob Dietz from the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mark Hamrick, President National Press Club, Clothilde Le Coz representing Reportes sans Borders, also spoke on the occasion and demanded an investigation into the assassination of Shahzad to hold the culprits responsible.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011