'ISI inimical to Pak, US interests'

Washington: An alarming report in the New York Times today suggests there is enough evidence to prove that Pakistan’s ISI is behind the brutal killing of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad. Asserting that the ISI has become inimical to the interests of the US and Pakistan, the daily asked Washington to seek the removal of Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha as its chief and slap sanctions against its officials involved in terror activities. “The United States needs to use its influence to hasten Mr. Pasha’s departure,” The New York Times said in its editorial today. “It should tell Pakistan’s security leadership that if Washington identifies anyone in ISI or the army as abetting terrorists, those individuals will face sanctions like travel bans or other measures. The ISI has become inimical to Pakistani and American interests,” NYT said. [caption id=“attachment_38809” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Obama administration now has evidence implicating the ISI in this brutal killing. Reuters”] [/caption] The editorial comes a day after Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Pakistan government might have sanctioned the killing of the noted Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad. Shahzad, 40, was kidnapped in Islamabad on  May 29 and his body, bearing marks of severe torture, was found dumped in a canal in Punjab province two days later. The Times in a lead story early this week had said that the Obama administration now has evidence implicating the ISI in this brutal killing. “American officials say new intelligence indicates that senior ISI officials ordered the attack on Shahzad to silence him. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed on Thursday that Pakistan’s government ‘sanctioned’ the killing, but he did not tie it directly to ISI,” it said. The NYT said the murder will make journalists and other critics of the regime “even more reluctant to expose politically sensitive news”. PTI