Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has made an intriguing statement regarding a highly sensitive but purely domestic issue of Pakistan. He is reported to have said that the Pakistan government "sanctioned" the killing of journalist Saleem Shahzad, and that he could not tie the death to the ISI - principal suspect within Pakistan.
The Admiral seemed to be absolutely sure of what he was saying as went on to observe that he was "concerned" about the incident, and that the murder and the reported abuse of other journalists is no way for a government to move ahead; it is a way to spiral in the wrong direction. And further that the incident "isn't the first. For whatever reason, it has been used as a method historically".
The assertion about the traditional use of violence in this society to silence journalists is indisputable. Sad as it is, over the last few conflict years, as many as 72 journalists have lost their lives in the line of duty. Some were killed by the violent extremists; but in several cases security agencies are suspected of murdering recalcitrant journalists. As for the present case, considering the large-scale presence, until recently, of US spies all over this country, Admiral Mullen may know much more than most in Pakistan do about the workings of the government, and the specific actions it takes. As a matter of fact, people like the US top commander know a lot of things about other governments that they tend not to reveal in public. But in the present instance, he has chosen to come out strongly to point a finger at a friendly foreign government. Cynics might want to suggest that since the US needs Pakistani security agencies more than the government at this point in time; it may have an interest in bailing out the ISI which is under a lot of public pressure for its alleged involvement in the Saleem Shahzad torture and murder case.
In any event, it is quite extraordinary for a senior US military official to openly link Pakistan government with a domestic incident that has caused huge public outrage. For the first time in the history of this country, a high level commission has been set up to hold an inquiry into it, and pin responsibility. This is a significant step forward for democracy in this country. Admiral Mullen could help this advance in the right direction by offering the Saleem Shahzad Inquiry Commission the evidence on which he has based his conclusion that it was actually the government, which sanctioned the journalist's murder.