KARACHI: Syed Mohammed Askari, a senior reporter for daily Jang, went missing on Saturday night after attending a wedding.

His colleagues and media organisations have alleged that he was “abducted by policemen and plain-clothes men” for unspecified reasons.

Ali Kamran, the news editor of Jang, told Dawn that Mr Askari was returning home with another person in a car after attending a wedding in Mehmoodabad.

When they reached the main road near Qayyumabad and were heading towards Baloch Colony, a police mobile intercepted them.

Mr Askari told police he was a Jang staffer, but they allegedly misbehaved with him, pushed him to the ground and took him away.

They spared the other person, but took away his cell phone.

The incident occurred at 12:15am.

The news editor said he got in touch with police as soon as Mohammed Askari’s companion informed him about the incident.

Ali Kamran, the news editor, said he had gone to Mr Askari’s family at their home in North Nazimabad on Sunday night, but they were unaware about the reason behind the police action.

Humayun Ahmed Khan, the SHO of Korangi Industrial Area police station, told Dawn that he rushed to the scene after receiving a call from Jang at 1:30am, but the place was in the jurisdiction of Baloch Colony police and not that of Korangi.

Mazhar Kango, the SHO of Baloch Colony police station, confirmed that he had received an application from Mr Askari’s wife about his disappearance, but no FIR had been registered.

According to the application, Shazia Askari said her husband had been “kidnapped by plain-clothes men and men in police uniform” who were travelling in a police mobile and a white colour vehicle. She said police gave no reason for

Mr Askari’s ‘kidnapping’.

A police official said he would not give an “official comment right now, but we are trying to trace him”.

Sindh govt takes noticeSindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon was quoted by a section of media on Sunday as having said that the provincial government had “taken notice” of the incident and directed the chief of Karachi police to ‘trace’ him.

The Sindh Journalists Pro­tection Committee has ordered the “immediate release” of S.M. Askari. The body’s chairman, retired Justice Rasheed A. Rizvi, directed the authorities on Sunday to submit a report within 36 hours. He described the ‘kidnapping’ of the reporter as a violation of Articles 9 and 10 of the Constitution.

The Karachi Press Club, the Karachi Union of Journalists and other media organisations termed the incident a case of ‘enforced disappearance’ and urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice.

In separate statements, the media bodies said if there was any charge against the journalist, he should be presented before a court.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2023