Senior journalist Syed Muhammad Askari, who was “picked up” by police and plainclothes men from Karachi, returned home after more than 24 hours, according to Geo News on Monday.
In yet another case of journalist kidnapping, Daily Jang’s senior reporter Askari was apprehended late Saturday night near the Qayyumabad KPT Interchange on Karachi’s Korangi Road. The journalist’s wife had filed a complaint at the Baloch Colony Police Station, accusing police and plainclothes officers of “abducting” her husband for unexplained reasons and requesting his immediate release.
She went on to say that the officers had their faces concealed and were in a police car and a white vehicle when they abducted her husband at roughly 1:15 a.m. on Sunday.
While returning from a ceremony, Askari’s car was stopped by the masked guys for no apparent reason. Askari presented himself to the personnel and informed them that he was a reporter with the Daily Jang, but they nevertheless beat him up and hauled him away.
According to The News International, when a reporter’s friend called the police helpline ‘Madadgar 15’ and described the situation, the officer who answered the phone told him to go to the appropriate police station.
Rao Rafiq, the SHO of the Zaman Town police station, was told about the occurrence, but the police denied any knowledge of it. SSP Tariq Nawaz of Korangi said information about the incident was being gathered. The family has urged that the authorities promptly return Askari.