Sami Ibrahim, the Islamabad-based anchor, has gone “missing.”
According to his relatives, a group of eight to ten guys seized the senior journalist as he was driving home from work.
It was revealed on Thursday that veteran journalist and TV presenter Sami Ibrahim had vanished from the nation’s capital.
The Islamabad police department has issued a statement saying they are actively searching for Ibrahim but that it is too soon to draw any firm conclusions.
According to the statement, police will assist the veteran journalist’s family in every way they can.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim’s brother Ali Raza reported to the Aabpara Police Station that the veteran journalist had been followed by four automobiles near Sixth Avenue, Sector G-6, at approximately 9 p.m. on Wednesday, after he had left his office with his driver.
The complainant claims that eight to ten individuals forced their way into the driver’s car and abducted Ibrahim before making off with his three cellphones and the keys.
This revelation comes as the government has been actively cracking down on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leadership, employees, and sympathizers.
Media workers who have spoken out in favor of a popular political party or against abuses of civil freedoms and legal rights have also drawn the ire of the state.
Also arrested earlier this month were journalists Imran Riaz Khan and Aftab Iqbal, both of whom are vocal supporters of the PTI. While it is unknown where the former is, the latter has apparently been let free.
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The disappearance of Ibrahim has also been criticized online.
What message does Pakistan send to the world when notable journalists vanish without a trace? Senior journalist Moeed Pirzada tweeted that after 14 days, police still don’t know what happened to Imran Riaz, who they picked up from Sialkot Airport.
Even though a legislation protecting journalists’ rights was passed in 2021, veteran journalist Mazhar Abbas has questioned why a journalists’ protection committee has not been established.
Arshad Sharif passed away last year, and now reporters Imran Riaz Khan and Sami Ibrahim have vanished. God alone knows where they are, he said on Twitter.
Pakistan has been criticized heavily by international press freedom and human rights organisations for its violations of the rights to free expression and its failure to protect journalist safety, with media employees frequently being among the first to come under fire during political crackdowns in the country. According to RSF’s 2023 Press Freedom Index, the country scored a 150 out of a possible 180 points.
This is the second time “unidentified men” had targeted Ibrahim. Unknown assailants assaulted and abused him in front of his Islamabad office in July 2022.
After the incident, the anchor, who was only slightly hurt, told reporters that the suspects were driving a car with a “green-colored registration plate.” He further said that the alleged assaulters had recorded the encounter on camera.
