Daily Times

Pakistani journalist who got disappeared for 12 hours in war-torn Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul said Friday he is back.

Anas works for the international news organization WION. He was in Afghanistan to cover the first anniversary of the Taliban takeover. The journalist reached Kabul on August 3.

“I am back,” Anas said in a brief statement on Twitter shortly after Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan confirmed that the journalist was safe and sound.

Journalists and activists expressed concerns and asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and other officials to ensure his recovery following Mallick’s disappearance,

“Regarding reports about Pakistani journalist Anas Mallick, I have just talked to him on phone briefly. He is in Kabul and safe. Embassy will remain in touch with him,“ the envoy said on Twitter.

Mallick was in Afghanistan to cover the first anniversary of the Taliban takeover, he reached Kabul on August 3.

The journalist went missing on Thursday after filing a story about the ‘safehouse’ where Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike.

“We at the Foreign Office are deeply concerned about the disappearance of Anas Mallick, FO correspondent, from Kabul yesterday,” the Foreign Office had said in a statement on Twitter after reports emerged that he was missing.

The government is in touch with local authorities and the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul for his early and safe return to Pakistan, the statement added.