ISLAMABAD, June 24: A high-powered commission constituted to investigate the kidnapping and murder of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad will be holding its first meeting on Monday, according to sources.

The five-member commission headed by Justice Saqib Nisar, a serving judge of the Supreme Court, will be meeting in Lahore.

According to Pervez Shaukat, a member of the commission and president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, the first meeting will decide where the secretariat of the commission will be set up and where its meetings will be held.

He said the commission was earlier scheduled to meet on Saturday but due to demise of his elder brother its date was changed and now it would hold its meeting in a building of the Lahore High Court on Monday.

Answering a question about the powers of the commission, Mr Shaukat said: “It can summon anyone and call relevant record from any government department.”

The sources said the commission could also summon top officials of intelligence agencies, including the ISI. The agency has been accused of having some involvement in the incident, though a military spokesman has rejected the allegation and said the agency was being maligned in the media.

Other members of the commission are: Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, additional inspector general (investigation) of the Punjab police and deputy inspector general of the Islamabad police.