#FindRaza: Twitter reacts to rights activist's disappearance

#FindRaza: Twitter reacts to rights activist’s disappearance

Author: Hamza Rao

LAHORE: Raza Khan, a progressive activist, has been missing from his home since Saturday.

He was last seen reportedly on Saturday at a public discussion on the rise of religious extremism in the country.

The news of his disappearance has seen hashtag #FindRaza trending on Twitter with many activists and human rights groups demanding his safe release.

Hamid Nasir Mehmood, the activist’s brother, has filed an application in Lahore’s Naseerabad Police Station, asking the law enforcers to take notice of Raza’s disappearance.

According to Reuters, police official, Shehzad Raza has said that Khan’s family reported he had been missing since Saturday. No one has been accused in the report, he said. “We’re investigating.”

The latest abduction comes a day after the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances informed the Supreme Court that 1,498 cases of missing persons were still pending with it. There are 273 cases of persons missing from Punjab, 126 cases each from Sindh and Balochistan, 63 cases from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and 52 from Islamabad. The report said that over 3,000 cases were disposed of until November 30, with 2,257 people being traced since 2011.

Earlier this year in January, six bloggers and social media activists had gone mysteriously disappeared and were later released. After their recovery, the abductees claimed that they were detained by intelligence agencies.

Pakistan is routinely ranked among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Criticising security policies controlled by the military is generally considered a major red flag. There have been a plethora of reports of reporters being detained, beaten and even killed.