Pak journalist returns home a day after 'going missing' in Karachi

Ali Imran, 40, working for Geo TV, on Friday left his house at Gulistan-e-Jauhar area between 7 pm and 8 pm to buy some items from a nearby bakery but did not return home, his brother Syed Talib Abbas Rizvi told police, following which a search was launched for the journalist.


PTI | Islamabad | Updated: 26-10-2020 11:55 IST | Created: 25-10-2020 00:16 IST
Pak journalist returns home a day after 'going missing' in Karachi
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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A Pakistani reporter who went missing in Karachi returned home on Saturday, his family and government officials said. Ali Imran, 40, working for Geo TV, on Friday left his house at Gulistan-e-Jauhar area between 7 pm and 8 pm to buy some items from a nearby bakery but did not return home, his brother Syed Talib Abbas Rizvi told police, following which a search was launched for the journalist. However, police were not able to trace him. Imran's car was parked outside the house and his mobile phone was also at home when he went missing, his wife had said at the time. On Saturday evening, Imran reached his mother's house and telephoned his wife, informing that he was back and safe, according to Geo TV.

However, it was so far not clear who picked him and where he spent almost 24 hours without any contact with his family. Minister for Postal Services Murad Saeed also told the media that Imran was back. The minister demanded that the Sindh government should probe who was behind his disappearance.

According to media reports, Imran had shared a video on social media about law enforcing agencies arresting Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on early Monday. Media outlets and human rights bodies have expressed grave concern over the sudden disappearance of Imran.

Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari tweeted that no one should “disappear in a democracy”. The media in Pakistan has been under a lot of pressure and journalists have faced kidnapping and harassment. Another Karachi-based reporter, Bilal Farooqi, was arrested in December and charged for spreading hateful content against the country's military on social media.

In July, journalist Matiullah Jan was picked by some unknown people. He was later set free after pressure from judiciary and media..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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