Missing Pakistani journalist found dead in Punjab

ISLAMABAD: Prominent journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, who went missing in the Pakistani capital over the weekend, was found dead in Punjab province today with his body bearing marks of torture, police said.

Two days before he went missing, Shahzad had written an article in which he contended that Al Qaida attacked a naval airbase in Karachi after failed talks with the navy to release some arrested naval personnel who had terror links.

Shahzad, 40, was the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia Times Online and a correspondent for Italian news agency Adnkronos International.

Shahzad, the author of "Inside Al Qaida and Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11," had alleged the attack was mainly in response to an internal clampdown on Al Qaida affiliates within the Pakistan Navy.

He was reported missing on Sunday evening shortly after he left his home in Islamabad for a television station to record a programme.

Reports earlier in the day said a body had been found near Shahzad's car at Sarai Alamghir near Jhelum town, about 200 km from Lahore.

After police informed Shahzad's family, a relative went to the site and identified his body.

Police said Shahzad's body bore marks of torture. An autopsy report stated that there were marks of torture on Shahzad's torso and face, Geo News channel reported. The channel beamed a black and white photo of the journalist's face with visible injuries.

An Islamabad Police spokesman too confirmed that Shahzad's body had been found in a canal.