As debate rages about who was behind the brutal murder of Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, some of us in Rome are quietly mourning his death and trying to make sense of the incomprehensible .

Shahzad was a highly respected correspondent for Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and the Italian news agency Adnkronos, and we at the English desk there used to dealing with him on an almost daily basis — commissioning stories and editing his copy.

We are shocked and saddened as we reflect on the life of this 40-year-old  “Houdini”, who survived kidnapping by the Taliban in 2006 and a near fatal shooting last year.  Last week his luck ran out.

The father of three was kidnapped in Islamabad on his way to a TV interview on Sunday May 29. His body was found in the town of Sarai Alamgir, 150 kilometres south-east of the capital, on Tuesday.   It showed clear signs of torture.

Before his disappearance, Shahzad had written an article in which he alleged that a recent attack on a Pakistani naval base in Karachi was carried out by al-Qaeda, in retaliation for the arrest of naval officials allegedly connected to the terrorist group.

As one colleague said, Shahzad had “stellar” contacts and a unique ability to communicate the complexity of his native country to the rest of the world.  He also relished intrigue and often disappeared into the tribal areas for weeks — only to re-emerge and sell his story to the highest bidder.

“He managed to get access to some really hair-raising stories,” says Seema Gupta, who used to edit his work at Adnkronos.  “He lived and breathed the story of his country.”

Shahzad was the first journalist to say al-Qaeda was responsible for the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and he had just published a book, Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11.

Like many self-employed journalists, he had a healthy ego and when seeking to renegotiate his fees he loved to say that he had lifted the “prestige of the agency to the skies”.   Yet when there was a breaking story he loved to play “cat and mouse” with our desk, turn the mobile phone off and go to the gym.  We would then read an “exclusive” he had written for another client and curse.

One day in November 2006 Shahzad became the story himself .

He and his colleague, Qamar Yousafzai, were kidnapped in Afghanistan’s  Helmand province by militants led by Taliban commander Matiullah.  After a mock trial and days of anxiety for his family, the pair was released.

“Today I am feeling very strange because Shahzad and I spent time together in Afghanistan and we were detained by the Taliban together,” Yousafzai told Crikey from Pakistan this week.

“He was my good friend and I can’t forget his smile during our captivity.”

When we learnt Shahzad had nearly died in a shooting last year, we were shocked to learn that local militants had nothing to do with the attack. Shahzad was shot in the chest and the stomach after an altercation with a guard at his sports club.

“He knew physically demanding trips to remote areas would be off the agenda for a while,” said former colleague Frances Kennedy, who saw him convalescing in Islamabad.

He was philosophical about the risks of his beat. Yet before his death he had complained of threats from Pakistani intelligence officers  (ISI) and warned the international rights group Human Rights Watch he feared for his life and the safety of his family.

A Supreme Court judge will soon be appointed to investigate Shahzad’s death. Yousafzai is convinced al-Qaeda is behind it, yet much of the Pakistani media points the finger at the ISI.

The truth behind why he was eliminated and by whom may never be known.  But we who knew him will always treasure our fond recollections of a human being who paid the ultimate price for his profession.

*Josephine McKenna worked at the English desk of Adnkronos news agency in Rome from July 2007 to July 2010.