Journalist bodies condemn abduction of journalist Zahid Abbas

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 16 May 2022 |  JP Staff Report

Zahid Abbas Malik, a journalist with Daily Dunya, has gone missing in Lahore. Journalist organizations are demanding immediate action from the authorities to locate him.

Summary

ISLAMABAD—Journalist bodies have expressed profound concern over the disappearance of a newspaper journalist Zahid Abbas Malik in Lahore.

According to Freedom Network, Malik, associated with Daily Dunya, has been missing for many days, and local police cannot track him down yet. "His family suspects intelligence agency's alleged involvement in his disappearance," it said.

In a condemnation statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) said such disappearance was against press freedom. The journalist community would not tolerate this and not keep silent.

Lahore Press Club demanded the government immediately rescue the missing journalist, or else the journalists' organizations across the country would come onto roads to record protests. It is a fundamental right of a journalist to use the power of the pen to highlight social evils for the betterment of society, the club said.

All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) stated that the kidnapping of Abbas by unknown miscreants is highly deplorable. It is regretted that journalists are being continuously harassed and threatened throughout the country.

Rawalpindi Islamabad Editors Council appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Omar Ata Bandial, to take immediate notice and order steps to recover the abducted journalist.

Photo courtesy: Freedom Network