By IANS/AKI,
Rome : An Italian lawmaker has demanded an international investigation into the killing of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad.
Shahzad’s battered body was found May 31 in a canal in Punjab province’s Mandi Bahauddin district, 150 km from Islamabad, two days after he went missing in the capital while on his way to attend a TV show.
He worked for Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online as well as Italian news agency AKI.
Italian MP Giuseppe Giulietti said: “This is a scandal and an intolerable outrage.”
“We intend to demand an international investigation to shed light on this case and will be making this request to Italy’s foreign minister,” he said.
“We owe this to Saleem, who was our eyes and ears in Pakistan, revealing to us realities that otherwise we would not have been aware of.”
Pakistan announced early Thursday the formation of a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to investigate the murder, Dawn News said.
The government’s earlier decision to hand over the probe to a judge from an Islamic sharia court was a “cover-up”, the MP alleged.
“This is domestic justice aimed at concealing the individuals responsible for this murder,” he said.