ISLAMABAD: At least four Pakistani activists known on social media for their secular leftist views have gone missing this week, relatives and NGO workers said on Sunday.
Two of the men – Waqas Goraya and Asim Saeed – disappeared on January 4, according to a cybersecurity NGO, while Salman Haider vanished on Friday and Ahmed Raza Naseer on Saturday, relatives said.
The Interior Ministry has said it will investigate the disappearance of Haider, a blogger known for his outspoken views on forced disappearances in Balochistan, but made no reference to the others.
Pakistan is routinely ranked among the world’s most dangerous for journalists, and reporting critical of the military is considered a major red flag, with journalists at times detained, beaten and even killed.
A security source denied intelligence services were involved in the disappearances.
Naseer, who suffers from polio, was taken from his family shop in Punjab, his brother Tahir said.
Hours after Haider was due home on Friday, his wife received a text message from his phone saying he was leaving his car on the Islamabad expressway, his brother Faizan said.
Police later found the car and registered a missing persons report. Faizan said his brother had not received any specific threats.
Netherlands-based Waqas Goraya was picked up on January 4, as was Aasim Saeed, said Shahzad Ahmed, head of cyber security NGO Bytes for All. “None of these activists have been brought to any court of law or levelled with any charges. Their status disappearance is very worrying not only for the families, but also for netizens and larger social media users in the country,” Ahmad said.
