Thaindian News

Islamabad, June 21 (IANS) A man suspected of involvement in the abduction and murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad has been arrested from Pakistani Kashmir, a media report said Tuesday.

Islamabad Police also said four men involved in the assassination of Federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti have been identified — but they are suspected to have fled the country, the Urdu daily Jang reported.

Interacting with members of the Crime and Court Reporters Association Monday, newly-appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Islamabad Binyamin said Ishtiaq Shah, who was allegedly involved in the murder of the journalist, was arrested from Muzaffarabad and was being questioned.

He said Shah had been involved in attacks on Shahzad even earlier and it seemed that there was an element of personal enmity in the case. However, investigations are on, said the IGP, who took over his new post Monday.

Shahzad, 40, was kidnapped in Islamabad May 29 and his body, bearing marks of severe torture, was found dumped in a canal in Punjab province two days later.

He is widely believed to have been seized by intelligence officials for alleging in an article that terrorists attacked a key naval base in Karachi May 22 after the navy refused to free sailors held for suspected militant links. The Supreme Court is monitoring the probe in his murder.

Binyamin also said police was on the trail of those involved in the murder of the minister.

He said police had arrested a suspect, from whom they had got quite a lot of useful information. On the basis of these leads, police had identified the others involved. He expressed confidence that these would also be arrested soon.

Bhatti, a 42-year-old Christian, was shot dead March 2 as he left his mother’s house in a posh locality in the heart of Islamabad.

His death was attributed to his statements against the country’s blasphemy laws, a stand which had also claimed the life of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in January this year.