Pakistani journalists have been allowed by the Interior Ministry to carry firearms for self-defense following the killing of a reporter, Syed Saleem Shahzad.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said he would also lead a probe into allegations that Pakistan’s main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), may have been implicated in Shahzad’s death.
The ISI has firmly denied any involvement.
The 40-year-old’s body was found on Tuesday, two days after he went missing while on his way to appear on a television talk show.
Shahzad had reported on al Qaeda and various other Islamist militant networks operating in Pakistan and is said to have warned human rights activists before he vanished that he had been threatened by the ISI.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the culprits would be brought to justice “at any cost.”
U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton said Washington strongly condemned Shahzad’s killing, and welcomed the investigation into his death.
Rights campaigners recently called Pakistan the most dangerous environment in the world for journalists.
MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti)