Journalist Waheed Murad ‘forcibly disappeared’ in Islamabad: family

Journalist Waheed Murad was “forcibly disappeared by unknown” individuals from his house in Islamabad’s G-8 sector, his family alleged on Wednesday in a petition filed before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for his recovery.

The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed by Murad’s mother-in-law Abida Nawaz through lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha.

Abida claimed the journalist was “forcibly disappeared from his home in Sector G-8, Islamabad at around 2:05am by unknown officials presumably belonging to intelligence agencies, and accompanied by persons in black uniforms and two police double cabin vehicles”.

She described herself as an “eyewitness to the enforced disappearance [of Murad], and was also herself manhandled by the abductors who also took away her phone”.

The state, the defence ministry, the Islamabad police chief and the Karachi Company police’s station house officer were listed as respondents in the case.

The petition urged the IHC to direct the respondents to “immediately trace and produce” Murad before the court.

It pleaded that the court also order the respondents to “identify and investigate those responsible, directly or indirectly, for abducting and illegally detaining” the journalist, as well as to disclose information on any cases filed against him.

The petition also requested that the authorities provide the counsel and family access to Murad. It further urged the IHC to direct the respondents to disclose any charges against the journalist and where he was being kept.

The petition highlighted that Murad had raised his voice about the recent alleged enforced disappearance of US-based journalist Ahmad Noorani’s two brothers.

The incident comes a week after Noorani’s mother, Amina Bashir, filed a plea with the IHC for the recovery of his brothers, saying they were “forcibly disappeared” from their Islamabad home at 1:05am by “unknown officials ostensibly belonging” to the country’s intelligence agencies.

Urdu News, the outlet for which Murad works, reported on the incident as well. According to Urdu News, Murad has previously also worked at News One and daily Ausaf, as well as runs a news website Pakistan24.

Police, family have ‘no information’
Murad’s wife, Shinza Nawaz, told Dawn.com that the capital police were telling them “nothing about who picked up my husband”. She demanded that they should be told about her husband’s whereabouts and under what laws he was taken away.

On their side, the Islamabad police expressed a lack of knowledge about the incident.

Their spokesperson, Taqi Jawwad, told Dawn.com the police had “no information” about the late-night incident so far and would check for it.

Abida told Independent Urdu that Murad even slipped his identity card under the door to show that he was not an Afghan national but was taken away by people who came “in a police vehicle and two Vigos”.

Shinza said she was currently in Canada while her mother was visiting Pakistan for medical treatment.

“The government picks up whoever it wants to. Whoever wishes breaks down someone’s door and takes them away in this country,” Shinza alleged while speaking to Dawn.com.

The journalist’s wife wondered why no arrest warrants were shown if it was a police raid, adding that the individuals had worn masks.

“Several masked men came and knocked the door, and asked my husband to open the door, saying he was an Afghan,” Shinza told Independent Urdu. She added that her mother woke up from her sleep as a result of the commotion.