Dr Riaz Ahmed, a political activist and a professor of applied chemistry at the University of Karachi (KU), has gone missing from Karachi, his family said on Saturday. Dr Ahmed last contacted his wife last night from the university at around 8pm and has not been in contact since 9pm Friday night, his family said.
His phone has been switched off.
A KU spokesperson said that the university has been informed about the professor's disappearance and is attempting to locate him. Activists associated with the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) have connected the incident to an alleged crackdown on sympathizers ahead of a rally scheduled for tomorrow. They have demanded the release of Dr Ahmed and several others allegedly detained as part of the same crackdown.
Describing the professor as Karachi's "agitator-in-chief", acclaimed author and writer Mohammad Hanif has also demanded his release. Meanwhile, lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir has said that Hashim Khan, who played an instrumental role in highlighting Naqeebullah Mehsud's extrajudicial killing, was picked up last night for supporting PTM.
Dr Ahmed had been arrested last year by the Sindh Rangers on charges of possessing a pistol, which he maintains were false and fabricated. He was picked up minutes before he was to hold a press conference at the Karachi Press Club to demand proper treatment for now deceased Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London leader and Professor Dr Hassan Zafar Arif, who had been in police custody at that time. Ahmed was released on bail days later.
The professor was also the core organiser of a seminar on Balochistan's missing persons held at KU in 2015 after a similar session was cancelled by the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
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