Daily Times

That direction after direction has come from the higher judiciary but a citizen of a sovereign, democratic country is nowhere to be found speaks volumes about the chaos engulfing Pakistan right now. It has been three weeks since controversial anchorperson Imran Riaz was apprehended in the wake of deadly riots but no one appears ready to give out any relevant information. In a recent hearing, Lahore High Court was apprised about how “certain foreign (phone) numbers (had been) traced back to Afghanistan,” pointing to a deliberate detour by the said media person. Even though the law enforcement agencies stand firm over their non-involvement in the episode, the intelligence failure to produce a missing person despite his well-known credentials cannot be overlooked. Footage of him being escorted out of Sialkot airport by a group of police officers has repeatedly hit television screens and no matter whose side the tongue-in-cheek commentator may choose to spin the narrative for, politics cannot (and should not) trump the provision of his fundamental freedoms.

Media advocacy groups fear that Mr Riaz has either died or suffered critical injuries during interrogation as they call on the state to reveal information.

The authorities cannot expect the nonchalant shrug to answer a long line of discomforting questions for them. The presence of a police van, their insistence on passing the blame from one police station to another and sweeping oblivion against who manages to flee through the cracks (as per the refuge in Afghanistan theory) need to be explained for not just his sake but also to maintain their own credibility. Pakistan was never a promised land for journalists but recent years have seen a gross uptick in “enforced disappearances”, especially in the case of voices of dissent. Any government worth its salt would do whatsoever is necessary to ensure his sound recovery. Trying him for any alleged instigation can wait until the public sees him before their eyes. *