The body of Qureshi, 31, an editor for the political news
website The London Post, was discovered about 2 a.m. by his brother Zahid after
family members found blood stains outside the journalist’s house, the Pakistani
daily The Express Tribune reported. Police reports said Qureshi’s throat had
been cut and described his body as showing signs of torture, The Express
Tribune said.
Another brother, Shahid, who lives in London, told CPJ that
the killers had taken the journalist’s laptop and telephone. Shahid Qureshi,
who also wrote for The London Post website, told CPJ that he and his brother
had received death threats from men who claimed they were from the Muttahida
Qaumi Movement, or MQM. The London Post, which was widely recognized as
anti-MQM, had run a series of critical stories on the party’s exiled leader,
Altaf Hussain.
Police arrested Faisal Hameed, a childhood friend of Qureshi,
in December 2011, alleging monetary motives, according to local news reports.
As of February 2013, Hameed remained in custody pending trial. An investigative
documentary produced by Samaa TV raised numerous questions about the police
investigation and cast doubt on the allegations against Hameed.