Senior journalist Matiullah Jan who was reportedly abducted from Islamabad’s Sector G-6 on Tuesday, returned home at night when kidnappers released him near Fateh Jang according to his family.
Speaking to media, Jan’s wife said that his car was found parked outside a school in Sector G-6 of the capital with one of his mobile phones inside the vehicle.
Jan, a freelancer who has worked for numerous local and foreign media outlets, was due to appear in the Supreme Court this week after it took suo motu notice of an alleged contemptuous tweet by the journalist.
Officials from the Aabpara Police Station have reached the area and are trying to acquire CCTV footage. SHO Shaukat Mehmood said that the journalist's wife has not yet filed an application to lodge a report on his disappearance.
Jan had tweeted a video of a journalist's interview earlier in the day. "This is for the attention of those who sit in the simulated air conditioned environment of rule of law in Pakistan and who think criticism on them is a bigger crime than the violation of the inviolable dignity of a human being," he wrote on Twitter at 11:05AM this morning.
As the news drew attention of journalists and international rights bodies, a tweet was posted on Matiullah Jan's account at 3:17 PM — purportedly by his son — which read: "Matiullahjan, my father, has been abducted from the heart of the capital [Islamabad]. I demand he be foundُ and the agencies behind it immediately be held responsible. God keep him safe."
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded that the government "immediately ensure the safe recovery" of the journalist.
Amnesty International South Asia also called for authorities to "establish [Jan's] whereabouts immediately".
In a tweet, the international human rights organisation said it was "extremely concerned for the fate and wellbeing" of the journalist, who it said has been the subject of "physical attacks and harassment for his journalism".
Freedom Network expressed "concern" at reports of Jan's disappearance.
Former Dawn editor Abbas Nasir tweeted about the journalist's disappearance, saying that "such acts of desperation will not prolong this fascist era" and prayed that Jan was well.
Journalist Asma Shirazi tweeted: "What the hell? Unknown people picked up [Matiullah Jan] from Aabpara. Really unknown?"
Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Mohsin Dawar "strongly condemned" Jan's disappearance and demanded his "safe recovery".
Tags:
journalist