The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned the murder of a Pakistani journalist who was found dead 150km from Islamabad on 31 May. The body of Syed Saleem Shahzad, who disappeared on 29 May, was discovered floating in a canal in Pakistan’s northern Gujarat district, according to media reports.

Shahzad was the Pakistan bureau chief for the Hong Kong-based online service Asia Times Online, and a correspondent for the Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI).

“Today…, our exceptional colleague and very dear friend Syed Saleem Shahzad concluded his marvelous and epic mission,” said Giuseppe Marra, Director of Adnkronos News Agency and a long-time member of IPI. He added that “… no assassin will ever be able to suppress the feelings of affection and friendship that bind all of us at AKI and the whole Adnkronos group to a man who viewed journalism as a supreme cultural mission of peace.”

Shahzad was abducted several days after he wrote  a two-part article about alleged links between the Pakistani military and Al-Qaeda.

There had been conflicting reports as to Shahzad’s welfare and whereabouts. Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 30 May told Pakistan’s Daily Times that the reporter was in the custody of the country’s intelligence service (ISI). Asia Times Online, on the other hand, at the time reportedly had no official proof that there was any ISI involvement. Members of the journalist’s family told the Hong Kong-based news agency that the journalist was believed to be in ISI custody, and was expected to be released soon.

Shahzad had already been warned by officials of the ISI over articles that they deemed harmful to Pakistan’s national image, Asia Times Online reported.

Shahzad is the second journalist killed in Pakistan since the beginning of the year in connection to his reports. Wali Khan Babar, a reporter for Geo News television, was shot in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi on 13 January. In 2010, Pakistan was the deadliest country for journalists with 16 deaths. According to IPI’s Death Watch, 48 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since January 2001 as a result of their profession.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “We offer our condolences to the family and colleagues of Mr. Shahzad, and we urge the Pakistani authorities to launch a transparent investigation into the case, so that the perpetrators are held responsible for their crime. Failure to react quickly will only fuel an already deeply-entrenched strongly climate of impunity in the country.”