PAKISTANI JOURNALIST IMRAN RIAZ KHAN MISSING FOR MONTHS RETURNS HOME

Imran Riaz Khan with his lawyer Mian Ashfaq after release on Monday. — photo courtesy Mian Ashfaq.

Mon 25 September 2023:

Imran Riaz Khan, an anchor who had been missing for more than four months, is now “safe at home”, Punjab Inspector General (IG) Dr Usman Anwar confirmed to local media on Monday.

JOURNALIST IMRAN RIAZ KHAN STILL MISSING IN PAKISTAN

Riaz — a YouTuber and television anchor — was arrested two days after violent protests broke out across the country following PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) during the early hours of Monday, the Sialkot police said, “Journalist/anchor Mr Imran Riaz Khan has been safely recovered. He is now with his family.”

Journalist/Anchor Mr.Imran Riaz Khan has been safely recovered. He is now with his family.
صحافی/اینکر عمران ریاض خان صاحب بازیاب ہو چکے ہیں۔ وہ اپنے گھر پہنچ چکے ہیں@OfficialDPRPP @rpogujranwala @PunjabPoliceCPO @GovtofPunjabPK @GovtofPakistan

— Sialkot Police (@DpoSialkot) September 25, 2023

In the video message posted on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after his arrest on May 11, the 47-year-old journalist said the “space to talk is shrinking in the country and I am being forced into silence”.

“I am leaving the country so I can continue speaking,” said the journalist, who is a vocal supporter of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The two are not related.

عمران ریاض خان کو گرفتار کرلیا گیا ہے، انکو بغیر کسی وارنٹ کے، بغیر کسی جرم کے حراست میں لے لیا گیا ہے۔ گرفتاری سے قبل انکی آخری وڈیو۔ پاکستان زندہ آباد۔
IRK Team. pic.twitter.com/BUUX8qEQ0e

— Imran Khan (@ImranRiazKhan) May 10, 2023

Separately, his lawyer Ashfaq, said in a post on X, “By God’s special blessing, grace, and mercy, I have brought back my prince.

“It took a lot of time due to the mountain of difficulties, the last limit of understanding of the matter, a weak judiciary, and the current ineffective public constitution and legal helplessness,” he said.

In another post on X in the afternoon, Ashfaq shared a photo with Riaz, the latter first since his disappearance.

اسکا مجھ پر ھمیشہ کے لئے حق اور میرے حصے کی ذمہ داریاں ختم نہ ھوں گی-

اسکے ساتھ تھا، ھوں اور رھتی دنیا تک رھوں گا- انشاء اللہ

آپ سب بھی شہزادے کو دیکھ لیں-

اللہ کریم ھے- اللہ رحیم ھے- اللہ بے نیاز ھے-

پاکستان زندہ باد- 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/fRJXdUKJkm

— Mian Ali Ashfaq (@MianAliAshfaq) September 25, 2023

Imran Khan’s party welcomed the move, calling it a victory for truth.

Anwar Raza, president of the country’s national press club in the capital Islamabad, said he spoke to Khan and he was in good spirits.

No one claimed responsibility for Khan’s disappearance, but many believed he was abducted by security agencies controlled by the country’s powerful army.

Khan’s family approached the Lahore High Court to seek help in finding him. After multiple hearings, the court on September 20 issued a “last warning” to the police to present the missing journalist by Tuesday.

‘DEEPLY DISTURBED’: ANOTHER PAKISTANI JOURNALIST MISSING AS FAMILY ALLEGES ABDUCTION

Pakistan has a checkered record regarding the safety of journalists and media freedom. It was ranked 150th on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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