The family of Baloch journalist and activist Abid Mir, who was earlier reported to have gone “missing” from Islamabad, has said that the journalist has contacted them and told them that he is in the northern areas with some friends and would not be able to contact the family for some days.
On Thursday, the Islamabad police said that Abid Mir had returned home. However, his family refuted the claim.
In a tweet, the capital police said that a “false impression” of Abid going missing had been created after the journalist lost contact with his family.
قلمکار عابد میر جن کے لاپتہ ہونے کی اطلاع تھی وہ گھر پہنچ گئے ہیں۔
گھر والوں سے رابطہ منقطع ہونے کی وجہ سے لاپتہ ہونے کا غلط تاثر پیدا ہوا ۔
تمام شہریوں اور صحافیوں کا شکریہ جنہوں نے اس سلسلے میں پولیس سے رابطہ کیا اور اطلاع دی ۔#Islamabad #ICTP #Police
— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) March 9, 2023
In a video statement on Twitter today, Abid Mir’s brother Khalid Mir said that they were unable to establish direct contact with Mir for the last couple of days and his whereabouts could not be verified. However, today he received a call from an unknown number.
“My brother talked to me and said that he is in the northern areas of Pakistan with some of his friends and would not be able to contact the family for the next two to three days,” he added.
ایک انجان نمبر سے عابد میر سے بات ہو گئی ہے کہ “وہ شمالی علاقے جات میں کہیں ‘دوستوں’ کے پاس ہیں اگلے دو سے تین دن ان کے پاس فون یا رابطہ نہیں ہوگا اور وہ خیریت سے گھر آجائیں گے۔”
لیکن جب تک اپنا فون نمبر بحال نہیں ہوتا اور وہ بخیریت گھر نہیں آ جاتے ہم ‘پریشان’ رہیں گے۔ خالدمیر pic.twitter.com/wAgBJ9arwA— Khalid (@Khalidgraphy) March 10, 2023
Abid Mir is a regional editor of a progressive digital media platform Lok Sujag.
He is also a writer and Ph.D. student.
The issue of enforced disappearances is a severe and longstanding issue in Pakistan.
According to a report released by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIOED) in July 2022, a total of 8,696 cases of missing persons have been reported. While 6,513 of these cases have been solved, 2,219 are still pending. Among the missing persons, the majority of people are from Baloch and Pashtun ethnicities.
However, human rights activists claim the number is much higher than this.
Earlier, unidentified men abducted a Baloch citizen identified as Muhammad Rahim Zehri along with his family members, including his mother, wife, and children, from Quetta. Rahim Zehri still remains missing, while the rest of the family was released.
Last month, a Baloch woman, a single mother of two children, who was allegedly abducted by the authorities from Quetta, was declared a ‘terrorist’ by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).
