‘ISI ordered scribe’s killing to stop terror nexus revelations’

The United States, signalling a precipitous falling out with Pakistan’s military establishment, has accused the country’s intelligence agency ISI of ordering the killing of a prominent journalist who consistently exposed the military-jihadi nexus in Pakistan.

The startling allegation, made through background leaks in the US media on Tuesday, puts the ISI squarely in the dock of international scrutiny, with serious consequences for US-Pakistani military ties, since the spy agency is part of the Pakistani military and security establishment.

Two unnamed US administration officials disclosed that new classified intelligence obtained before the May 29 disappearance of the journalist, Saleem Shahzad, in Islamabad, and after the discovery of his mortally wounded body, showed that senior ISI officials directed the attack on him in an effort to silence criticism.

They said the intelligence in this regard is “reliable and conclusive,” and it showed that the actions of the ISI, as it is known, were “barbaric and unacceptable”. The Obama administration will deliberate in the coming days how to present the information about Shahzad’s killing to Pakistani government, an official said.