NEW YORK: Pakistan authorities must immediately reveal the whereabouts of journalists Sami Abraham and Imran Riaz Khan and stop intimidating the press as the country’s political turmoil drags on, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.
At around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, between eight and 10 men-some wearing uniforms—detained Abraham, president and anchor of BOL News, while he was going home from the privately owned broadcaster’s office in Islamabad, according to news reports and Raja Amir Abbas, the journalist’s lawyer, who spoke with CPJ by phone.
Abraham’s whereabouts remain unknown as of the evening of Thursday, May 25, Abbas said.
The whereabouts of BOL News anchor Imran Riaz Khan, who has been missing since May 11 following his arrest at Punjab’s Sialkot airport, also remain unknown as of Thursday evening, his lawyer Azhar Siddique told CPJ by phone.
“We are deeply disturbed by the disappearances of journalists Sami Abraham and Imran Riaz Khan amid a worsening media crackdown in Pakistan,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must respect the rule of law and either present Abraham and Khan in court or immediately release them.”
Journalists have been arrested, attacked, and surveilled after the May 9 arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, also chair of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which led to nationwide protests.
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