Missing Pakistani journalist, who had footage of Safdar's arrest, returns home

Senior Geo News reporter Ali Imran Syed, who had obtained footage of Captain Safdar Awan's arrest and was missing for over 22 hours, returned to his mother's home in Karachi on Saturday evening.

After reaching his mother's home in Karachi, he established contact with his wife over the phone. He told her that he has returned safely and has not been physically harmed, reported Geo News.

The journalist went missing on Friday evening after he had reportedly gone to a nearby bakery but did not return home.

According to details, Ali Imran left home between 7 pm to 8 pm saying that he did not return home after hours despite telling the family that he would return in 30 minutes.

The police said that the scene would be thoroughly inspected and the CCTV will be obtained to probe further into the case. The Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed Inspector General of Sindh Police Mushtaq Mahar to ensure the safety of the journalist.

"Such actions against journalists are intolerable... I want a progress report on Ali Imran every hour," said Murad Ali Shah as quoted by Geo News.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had also directed the interior ministry to stay in touch with the Sindh government and monitor progress in the matter.

Senior journalist Nasim Zehra said that Ali Imran had obtained the CCTV video of PML-N leader Captain Safdar's arrest from a Karachi hotel. "Can't you question Ali Imran without kidnapping him?" she asked.

She also took to Twitter saying, "GeoReporter Ali Imran who released footage of Captain Safdar's arrest by SindPolice/Rangers, has disappeared-can't u (you) qn (question) Ali Imran without kidnapping him? Will kidnapping help 2 'reconstruct' widely known facts? Never. #BringBackAliImran.'

Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the concerned federal agencies had been directed to cooperate with the Sindh government to ensure the recovery of the reporter.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called the disappearance of the journalist an attack on the "freedom of expression".

"The process of suppressing voices must stop now," said the PPP chairman in a statement quoted by Geo News and added that such incidents involving journalists create a negative image of Pakistan globally.

( With inputs from ANI )