Waris Raza, a journalist who went missing in Karachi, has returned home, saying he was given a warning to exercise caution. The journalist, however, says he will continue to exercise his right to free expression.
Earlier, Raza’s family said he was detained in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. Gulshan-e-Iqbal police, however, claimed they did not know any details of the incident.
Returning home after being missing for 14 hours, Raza told the BBC that he had been blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. He said the men who took him said they were not with the Rangers. They mentioned they were associated with an intelligence agency but did not name it, Raza told BBC.
Raza said his abductors told him he was writing against the state, and he responded that he was writing in accordance with Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan. The abductors asked him which article was this, and Raza told them it related to freedom of speech.
The abductors also asked him questions about his Facebook posts and a column he wrote for a newspaper. “Why are you against the hybrid system? Is it really that bad?” they asked Raza.
Raza responded that it the hybrid system was against democratic norms and this is why he opposed it.
Raza’s abductors told him that he was “an honest person” who should think about why he was against the Pakistan Media Development Authority. “Be careful, don’t do it again,” he was told.
Raza said he insisted that he would not give up his freedom of expression. Later, he was brought near the Gulshan-e-Iqbal police station and released.
Waris Raza is associated with Urdu daily Express and has been a leading member of the Communist Party of Pakistan. He was also a general secretary of the Progressive Writers Association.
