Under fire, Pak govt allows journalists to carry arms

Journalists in Pakistan have been allowed to carry small firearms for self-defence following the killing of scribe Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik said on Wednesday.

Journalists in Pakistan have been allowed to carry small firearms for self-defence following the killing of scribe Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik said on Wednesday.

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Pakistani journalists, like the army, are battling negative forces, Malik said. To ensure their safety, orders have been issued to allow journalists to carry small arms for self-defence, he said.

Malik also promised to probe allegations about ISI’s involvement in his abduction. He, however, added the murder could be a “case of personal enmity”.

Shahzad, 40, who worked for an Italian news agency and an online news website, went missing on Sunday. His body was found at Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab province. He disappeared two days after writing that al Qaeda carried out a recent attack on a naval airbase in Karachi to avenge the arrest of naval officials suspected of having links to the terrorist group