The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) rejected the probe team formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to investigate the kidnapping of Karachi-based Geo News journalist Ali Imran Syed.
According to a report by the Geo News, the three orgsations say that the team formed by Prime Minister Imran consists of personnel linked with state agencies and who are allegedly culpable in similar past activities.
"Last month, the FIA -- which has been tasked with investigating the abduction of Syed -- registered fabricated cases against 49 journalists, some of whom have been summoned to probe baseless cases against the journalist community. How can such an authority ensure a fair and transparent inquiry?" the orgsations were quoted as saying in the statement.
They demanded the immediate constitution of a judicial commission and urged Khan to refer the case to the Supreme Court, citing the rise in threats to journalists, Geo News said.
The Senior Geo News reporter, who had obtained footage of Captain Safdar Awan's arrest and was missing for over 22 hours, returned to his mother's home in Karachi on Saturday evening.
After reaching his mother's home in Karachi, he established contact with his wife over the phone. He told her that he has returned safely and has not been physically harmed, reported Geo News.
The journalist went missing on Friday evening after he had reportedly gone to a nearby bakery but did not return home.
According to details, Ali Imran left home between 7 pm to 8 pm saying that he did not return home after hours despite telling the family that he would return in 30 minutes.
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had called the disappearance of the journalist an attack on the "freedom of expression".
"The process of suppressing voices must stop now," said the PPP chairman in a statement quoted by Geo News and added that such incidents involving journalists create a negative image of Pakistan globally.
( With inputs from ANI )
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