Govt takes notice of alleged abduction of senior journalist Matiullah Jan

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has taken notice of the alleged abduction of a senior journalist Matiullah Jan from the federal capital Islamabad, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The Federal Minister on Human Rights Shireen Mazari and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar have taken notice of the incident.

Shahzad Akbar said in a Twitter message that he has spoken with the Inspector General (IG) Islamabad Police to register a First Investigation Report (FIR) besides asking the police forces to recover the missing journalist at earliest. The special assistant also asked authorities to trace Matiullah Jan within 24 hours.

Shireen Mazari said that she was informed about the kidnapping of the senior journalist and termed it ‘very disturbing’ incident. The federal minister said that the Islamabad police chief apprised her that there were looking into it.

Following the incident, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ) has demanded the federal government to take emergency steps for the earliest recovery of Matiullah Jan.

Moreover, a petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the retrieval of the missing journalist.

Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC), while hearing the petition, issued notices to the secretary interior, chief commissioner and IG Islamabad police.

Earlier, the high court accepted for hearing the petition in order to protect the basic constitutional right, The IHC judge directed secretary interior, chief commissioner and Islamabad police chief to appear before the court on Wednesday (tomorrow) if they failed to trace the missing journalist.

It is also directed to issue notices to all parties in the case through the special representatives of the IHC Registrar Office.

The petitioner said that Matiullah Jan was ‘abducted’ early morning in Islamabad and it was an apparent attempt for ‘enforced disappearance’, whereas, footage of the incident was also available.

The representatives of the IHC journalists’ association have also appeared before the court.