The anchorperson was abducted by “eight to ten unidentified men” who intercepted Abraham’s vehicle on the service road of Sixth Avenue at Sector G-6 in Islamabad at 9pm while he was heading home from the BOL TV office.

Abraham’s brother, Ali Raza, has filed a complaint in this regard with the Aabpara Police, saying that Abraham was picked up by unidentified men and the family was unaware of his whereabouts.

According to Dawn, the journalist has been arrested by police. However, Islamabad police have issued a statement saying they would cooperate with the journalist’s family in tracking him down.

Another pro-PTI anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan’s whereabouts also remains unknown after he was arrested by police at Sialkot airport on May 11.

On May 22, Punjab police told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan was not present at any police station across Pakistan.

Human rights defenders have strongly condemned the crackdown against PTI leaders and supporters.

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According to the journalist’s statement to the police, he was taken to an undisclosed location where he was tortured by unknown men. He was released after over a day.

The journalist is associated with Khyber News and mainly reports on human rights abuses in Waziristan.

خیبر نیوز @KhyberNews247 کے نمائندہ اور بنوں پریس کلب کے صدر گوہر وزیر کو گزشتہ روز نامعلوم افراد نے اغوا کیا، سارا دن حبس بے جا میں رکھا اور اُن پر تشدد کیا۔ ارباب اختیار سے اپیل ہے کہ صحافیوں کو فرائض منصبی سے روکھنے کی بجائے ان (نامعلوم) عناصر کا راستہ روکھیں۔ @KP_Police1 pic.twitter.com/SBRrMUIie0

— Mubarak Ali (@mubarak74) April 21, 2023

In 2019, security personnel in plainclothes detained Gohar Wazir in Bannu after reporting on a protest by Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).

He was held overnight at a Counterterrorism Police station with about two dozen other people. He was then transferred to a prison in Haripur District. He was later released.

Journalists in Pakistan have faced serious obstacles to their work, including harassment, intimidation, assault, arbitrary arrest and detention, abduction, and death.

Senior journalists, including former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA) Absar Alam, Matiullah Jan, Bilal Farooqi, and Asad Ali Toor among others have faced violence and persecution.

Senior journalist Gharida Farooqi recently opened up about the harassment she had to endure as a woman journalist in Pakistan in a report by The Washington Post, These women journalists were doing their jobs. That made them targets.

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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).

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Malaysian authorities deported the journalist at the request of the Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in August last year. The Pakistani authorities initially denied that he was in the country. However, his whereabouts became known in February this year when he was moved to Adiala Jail after being subjected to enforced disappearance for over five months. He was shifted to a jail in Peshawar 10 days later.

Rights activists and journalists have termed his arrest “illegal”.

In a report by Voice of America, Syed Fawad’s wife claimed that her husband was kept in various dark cells and was subjected to torture. She also alleged that her husband was transported to Pakistan on a stretcher after being drugged.

Earlier, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged Pakistani authorities to release the investigative journalist, as they believe the journalist is being held “illegally”.

The RSF had also stated that Shah is being held on the charges of posting “false, frivolous, and fake information” online in violation of sections 20 and 24 of the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The charges of defaming state officials were also allegedly brought against him. The RSF said there was no evidence to support the charges and urged the authorities to release the journalist immediately.

The journalist left the country after he was allegedly abducted by unidentified men in 2011.

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Malaysian authorities deported the journalist at the request of the Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in August last year. The Pakistani authorities initially denied that he was in the country. However, his whereabouts became known in February this year when he was moved to Adiala Jail after being subjected to enforced disappearance for over five months. He was shifted to a jail in Peshawar 10 days later.

The RSF further stated that Shah is being held on the charges of posting “false, frivolous, and fake information” online in violation of sections 20 and 24 of the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The charges of defaming state officials were also allegedly brought against him. The RSF said there was no evidence to support the charges and urged the authorities to release the journalist immediately.

The journalist left the country after he was allegedly abducted by unidentified men in 2011.

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While referring to a viral picture wherein General (r) Bajwa and his son could be seen waiting for the signal to cross a road in Dubai, the journalist said he “broke down” seeing them wait without any security protocol, considering in Pakistan even hours before his departure for a place, the highways and roads would be closed off to the general public.

He recounted that one such incident involved his son, Muhammad Umar Absar.

He shared that in March 2020, his son, who was supposed to watch a Pakistan Super League match with his cousins and was waiting for them to arrive outside the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, called them, and “that phone call became his crime”, he added.

He said that the former chief of staff was also supposed to watch the same match with his family amid heavy security protocol.

The veteran journalist narrated the stringent security measures that were taken for General (r) Bajwa and his family, which included a heavy contingent of Pakistan armed forces, as well as snipers and rangers.

He said that however, at the time his son made the phone call to his cousins, General (r) Bajwa was still in Washington and there were two hours left before his departure to Pakistan.

Upon seeing his son making the call, “all hell broke loose” as he was detained by the officers of the Pakistan Army and police for ‘breaching’ the security, he claimed.

Absar Alam further claimed that upon knowing that the 20-year-old was his son, he was beaten up and detained. He alleged that the torture continued even after his son was taken to a police station and locked up with criminals.

The journalist added that his son was accused of breaching the security of General (r) Bajwa and beating a government official.

He lamented that to this day his son is seeking therapy while adding that this is not just a story of his son but of “thousands of sons of this country” who laid their lives for the country on “internal or external adventures like Kargil”.

Absar Alam further said that sons of thousands of families belonging to various ethnicities, including Baloch, Pashtun, Sindhi, Muhajir, Kashmiri, and Punjabi, are missing but they still choose to stay in Pakistan. However, people like General (r) Bajwa decide to settle their families abroad.

JOURNALISTS CONDEMN THE INCIDENT:

Fellow journalists and politicians have condemned the incident and expressed support for the journalist and his family.

Journalist Haroon Rashid said: “Sorry to hear about your and your family’s ordeal. Every day we hear new sad tale, yet we don’t see any change for better only more mess”

Sorry to hear about your and your family’s ordeal. Every day we hear 🆕 sad tale, yet we don’t see any change for better only more mess

— Haroon Rashid (@TheHaroonRashid) February 13, 2023

Mushtaq Yusufzai said: “Very painful, reminded me my ordeals. Though we are used to such things, I couldn’t sleep for days when I was picked up first time, without any reason. The only question that I would ask myself “why”.”

Very painful, reminded me my ordeals. Though we are used to such things, I couldn’t sleep for days when I was picked up first time, without any reason. The only question that I would ask myself “why”.

— Mushtaq Yusufzai (@MYusufzai) February 13, 2023

Columnist and anchorperson Moeed Pirzada said: “We should all be thankful to Absar Alam for being brave to tell us the reality of this country & its real corrupt elite! Most of us, including myself, have failed to even understand the real problem! Absar has explained it well! Must Read, every line till end!”

We should all be thankful to Absar Alam for being brave to tell us the reality of this country & its real corrupt elite! Most of us, including myself, have failed to even understand the real problem! Absar has explained it well! Must Read, every line till end! https://t.co/iOrPt8I0qE

— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) February 12, 2023

Politician Bushra Gohar also expressed her support.

Stay strong, BG

— Bushra Gohar (@BushraGohar) February 12, 2023

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