KARACHI: After remaining missing for more than 22 hours, senior Geo News reporter Ali Imran Syed returned to his mother’s home in Karachi on Saturday evening.
According to Geo News, the reporter spoke with his wife over the phone after reaching his mother’s home in the city. He told his wife he was safe and had not been harmed. The journalist went missing on Friday evening after he had reportedly gone to a nearby bakery but did not return home. Police authorities were informed about Imran’s disappearance and had registered a case.
The incident prompted alarm and condemnations from journalists bodies, rights groups and various quarters of the federal and provincial governments.
Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the interior ministry to stay in touch with the Sindh government and monitor progress in the matter. He also said the safety of all journalists should be ensured “at all costs”.
While taking cognisance of the matter, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed Inspector General of Sindh Police Mushtaq Mahar to ensure the reporter was recovered. “Such actions against journalists are intolerable,” said Murad Ali Shah. “I want a progress report on Ali Imran every hour.” As word of his disappearance spread, Minister for Information Shibli Faraz said all concerned federal agencies had been directed to cooperate with the Sindh government to ensure Imran’s recovery.
Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said no one should disappear in a democracy. The minister said the “country has strong laws, including anti-terror laws, to deal with those who are allegedly guilty of a crime”. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called the incident an attack on freedom of expression.
While PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said the journalist was “picked up for speaking the truth”. “This has to end one day and that time is close,” she added.
Rights watchdog Amnesty International’s South Asia Office called on the authorities to establish immediately the “whereabouts” of the missing reporter.
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