It was sunny day, my phone started ringing. I was called by foreigner journalist Kim Oihyun who came to Pakistan almost three and half years ago to cover general election of the country. He asked for my assistance for reporting on various issues including election, war on terror, lawyers’ movement and religious education system.
I took him to politicians of different parties, prominent lawyers and intellectual for interviews in a week. The foreigner asked me to visit Saleem Shahzad, which he had taken special appointment before coming to Pakistan.
Kim told me that he was very fond of meeting Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad as he read his investigative stories on different foreign newspapers and Asian Times Online. I was also very happy to have opportunity to meet a person whom I read for couple of years to learn how to report and write investigative news stories.
We were excited to visit his place because Saleem Shahzad was very special person to us. And after meeting him, I was very contend and happy because the foreign journalist who had deep concerns about Pakistan’s politics and role of religion in society was clarified factually by Saleem Shahzad, which I was almost failed to do.
Why were Pakistani people involved in terrorism activities? Why democracy is not system of Pakistan’s governance? Why people complain about ringing in the elections? What is the role of Intelligence Agencies in Pakistan? Why were religious seminaries militants? Why woman were deprived of her basic rights in Pakistan? What does Islam say about its political and socio-economic system?
These are in fact questions which had been raised by foreign media and explained with exaggerations its false arguments without distorted facts and biased angle usually. And all these answers were in the mind of South Korean Journalist.
Saleem responded to him with great logic, justifications and fact and satisfied him about his curios issues. He seemed contended which he told me later because he and I knew after reading his stories that Saleem Shazhad was kind of person who believe in facts and truth.
The crux of his explanation is that the government bowed down against America after 9/11 but people of the country did not as whole particularly religious forces and their followers. There is lot of foreign intelligent agencies are supporting militancy with their separate agendas in Pak-Afghan border so terrorism like killings and bomb blasting are inevitable.
Pakistan’s political parties are weak and less capable to govern the state. They are corrupt with no lacking of any agenda to serve the nation so army has little popularity among masses and it was invited and welcome to take over the state.
And why democracy is not flourishing in Pakistan, he explained, because Pakistan is a multi-ethnic, multi-culture with tribal and feudal system along with widespread illiteracy in the rural areas where majority of the population lives.
The intelligence is powerful having strong networking and relationship with politicians. It influences greatly in country politics and directed their policy in the country whether Army is in the power or not.
On the issue of women rights, he pointed out that Pakistan is Muslim state with female Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. They are particular seats reserved for woman in parliament. Woman in Pakistan has lot of liberty to work should and shoulder with man.
At the end of the meeting, I feel proud of him that how he dispelled all wrong nations lie in the mind of the western journalist. At the end of meeting, I thought in my mind about Saleem Shehzad as a patriotic Pakistani and a true Muslim.
After few days, Saleem invited me and Kim to attend a talk show in which they discussed about the future of Pakistan in the light of democratic system. I remember whatever he predicted three and half years ago presented almost the same picture of the country.
I am amazed and remember still about his analytical for forecast about Pakistan’s politics and terrorism issues.
In the talk show, he said the incidents of suicide attacks will be minimize after couple of months with the new political government and militancy could be curbed with its wise steps and dialogue process. But if the government will pursue the same suit as President Musharraf-led government did, the situation will become worst.
He opined that the Pakistan Peoples’ party government was came in power with the support of US, therefore, it is unlikely that the drone attacks would be ended but the situation could be more deteriorated if the new government followed the dictation of US administration.
The government should revisit the terms and conditions on war on terror with US otherwise the prevailing relationship will destroy our economy and divided society towards right and left extremes, Saleem said in the show.
He said the USA has apparently loss the war and it will declare exit of its forces in next few years because it could not fight with the Pushtoon warlords in general and with the Taliban in particularly.
I realized with the passage of time that all Saleem’s forecasts were almost providing right.
Since our couple of meetings, I got good friendship with Saleem Shahzad. He is a nice and down-to-earth person who always encouraged his juniors to work hard for investigative stories.
He phoned me often and we used to exchange views on different issues particularly terrorism and role of Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I always asked him not to report in deep, what he used to enjoy, to take risk for a life but he always replied that nothing happens you should tell the truth and believe in Allah.
He was never hesitant to reveal facts related to anyone though he was punished and abducted several time and received a bullet wound once. I often asked him how he can manage to file news reports on Taliban while sitting in Karachi and he replied that it is not such a big deal you would also do it with the help of sources.
There are so many young journalists in the electronic and print media who asked me to arrange a gathering or workshop with Saleem Shahzad for learning investigative report with better understand issues.
Saleem Shahzad was a truly a brave man who despite abducted several times, survived in a gunshot and received life threats from different quarters but did not stop writing truth in his stories. He travelled mountainous and deserted places along and interviewed Al-Qeada and Taliban leaders such as Ilyas Kashmiri and Jalauddin Haqqani. Besides, he had strong and reliable sources in foreign and local intelligence agency which proved that he followed the journalistic term “that a journalist is not enemy of anyone but he is friend of anyone” in full letter and spirit.
When I got to know that he was missing, I thought he would be come back from abduction with his cheerful face like it happened in the past. But this time, he did not come but the news of his killings was reported. Earlier, he was abducted by Taliban in Afghanistan and bordering areas but he was not killed however he was kidnapped in his own country and found dead brutally after few days.
His works are lessons for young journalists to know how to report and write investigative news stories and features with logic, facts, figures and analysis. Saleem’s book “Al-Qaeda and Taliban Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 is a great work but unfortunately it was banned in the country.
He was an asset for Pakistan and its journalism who produced hundreds of investigative stories, features and authored a book even his martyrdom caused breaking news and investigative news reports, editorial and topics of talk shows.
There is a vacuum created in Pakistan media after his death particularly in the field of investigative reporting and no one can defend the propaganda of western media against our country like he did in his profession.
His tragic death will crop up many questions on our intelligence agencies, which though in a rare move contradict all allegation against it but removed all records of his calls from May 12 to 28 till the day of his death.
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