The call record of slain Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad’s cellular phone has been erased, with the log of the 18 days before his abduction and murder being wiped out from the system, a media report said on Tuesday.
The last call made by Shahzad that is reflected in the log was on May 12, 17 days before his abduction on May 29, according to data obtained by The Express Tribune newspaper.
Hamza Ameer, Shahzad’s brother-in-law, said he had found the phone switched off when he tried to contact him at 5:42 pm on May 29. Shahzad made his last call, according to the data, on May 12 near a cellphone tower installed atop a bank in Islamabad’s Blue Area.
Shahzad, according to the data, was in Islamabad between May 1 and May 12.
A close friend of Shahzad told PTI that he had been able to call the slain journalist’s mobile phone early on May 30 but the call was disconnected after several rings.
Shahzad, who worked for Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and Italian news agency Adnkronos International, was abducted shortly after he alleged in an article that al Qaeda had infiltrated the Pakistan Navy.
{{/usCountry}}Shahzad, who worked for Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and Italian news agency Adnkronos International, was abducted shortly after he alleged in an article that al Qaeda had infiltrated the Pakistan Navy.
{{/usCountry}}Journalists’ groups and rights organisations have said they suspect Shahzad was picked up by intelligence operatives but the ISI has denied any involvement in his kidnapping and murder.