Islamabad, Pakistan – Almost two weeks ago, a short video surfaced on social media showing Pakistani journalist and political commentator Imran Riaz Khan being escorted out of Sialkot International Airport by a group of police officers.
The 47-year-old controversial commentator, with more than three million followers on YouTube, has not been seen publicly since and neither his family nor the police seem to know where he is.
His 32-year-old brother, Usman Riaz Khan, said that on the day the video was shot, May 11, Imran Riaz Khan was flying to Oman, having decided to flee Pakistan when police raided his home in Lahore the day before. .
“My brother was able to distill political issues into his 16-minute videos and he always told the truth, which is why he was arrested,” the younger brother told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
Speaking from Lahore, Usman Riaz Khan said Punjab police sources told the family that his brother had been taken to the police station after being arrested at Sialkot airport.
“When we asked, the police said that we released him only that night. The police also claimed that he left with a group of unknown people and that they no longer know anything about him,” Usman said, adding that his brother has no legal case against him.
However, his father claimed in an official complaint filed with the police that CCTV footage from the police station showed his son being “kidnapped” by “four or five masked men” after being released.
In Pakistan, a prominent pro-Imran Khan commentator has “disappeared”. Imran Riaz Khan was detained by police last week but they say he is no longer in custody 🤨
I spoke with the Minister of Information @Marriyum_A about his case and freedom of the press under the current government: pic.twitter.com/KhN4MId2wR
— Secunder Kermani (@SecKermani) May 22, 2023
Azhar Siddique, a lawyer for the family, criticized the arrest of Imran Riaz Khan, saying there are no charges against him anywhere in the country.
“Despite having no reason to hold him, the authorities are finding excuses to slow down the process and somehow delay it,” the lawyer told Al Jazeera on Tuesday, adding that the family would file an appeal.
Usman Riaz Khan said that during a court hearing on May 22, 11 days after his older brother was arrested at the airport, police repeatedly claimed that Imran Riaz Khan was not in their custody.
“The (Inspector General) told the court that he needs three more days to look for my brother, and now the next hearing is on Thursday. My family is completely traumatized. My father is a diabetes patient and he can’t even talk about this,” he said.
“Apart from the eldest daughter, we have not even told the rest of the three children where their father is and why he is not at home,” added Usman Riaz Khan.
government response
Punjab Police Inspector General Usman Anwar said on Tuesday that Imran Riaz Khan was not in police custody and declined to comment further as the case was ongoing in court.
“He is not with us. The question is under trial (before a judge). It is not necessary in any case, ”he replied to Al Jazeera via phone message.
Punjab’s acting Information Minister Amir Mir also denied that Imran Riaz Khan was in police custody.
“The Punjab Police Chief has given the answer in court. The matter is being heard there, but we don’t have any information about Imran Riaz Khan and he is not with us.”
In a television interview on Monday, Home Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said that if it is proven that Imran Riaz Khan was kidnapped, the government will prosecute the perpetrators.
“We have asked the intelligence and investigative agencies and they have said that he is not with them,” he said.
Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said she condemned any illegal action taken against individuals, while questioning Imran Riaz Khan’s journalistic credentials.
“Imran Riaz Khan is a spokesperson for a political party. A distinction must be made between a journalist and those who join a political party and incite violence. Don’t mix them with those journalists reporting,” the minister told the UK’s Channel 4 News.
The Khan controversy
The YouTuber and commentator has a controversial reputation. Through his videos and statements, it is seen that Imran Riaz Khan is closely aligned with former Prime Minister Imran Khan (no relation) and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The video of Imran Riaz Khan being escorted from the airport was filmed two days after the former prime minister was arrested on corruption charges.
Following the arrest of the former prime minister, widespread violent protests erupted across the country, prompting the government to approve the establishment of military courts to try protesters involved in the attack on military installations under a draconian military law and a official secrets law. During the protests, at least 10 people were killed and more than 4,000 were arrested on charges of vandalism and rioting.
Before the removal of the former PM from office in April 2022Imran Riaz Khan was an ardent supporter of the military and its actions against journalists, but his pro-military stance was reversed shortly thereafter.
Imran Riaz Khan was twice arrested by authorities in July 2022 and February 2023 on sedition charges. He was released in both cases in less than a week and the charges were later dropped.
freedom of the press
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the world body for press freedom, condemned the “kidnapping” of Imran Riaz Khan and said it believes Pakistani spy agencies are involved.
“It is useless to close your eyes to the euphemism of ‘agencies’. Clearly, it was Pakistan’s military intelligence agencies that kidnapped Imran Riaz Khan,” Daniel Bastard, RSF’s Asia-Pacific chief, said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“It is up to the civilian government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure respect for the rule of law by taking the journalist to court or ordering his release. Otherwise, the Pakistani authorities will be directly responsible for any damage that may have happened to it.”
Journalists union activist and reporter, matiullah jan, criticized the government’s inaction to win back Khan. Highlighting the reaction of Information Minister Aurangzeb, Jan, who was also arrested for a day in 2020, took issue with the criticism of Imran Riaz Khan.
“You are criticizing a person who has been missing for almost two weeks. You criticize someone who is at least in front of you or has the power to respond. Are you a minister and you insult someone who is missing just because you think he is a party worker? Is it justified to disappear a party worker? Jan asked Al Jazeera.
Analyst and journalist Absar Alam, who survived an assassination attempt in 2021, said illegal and unconstitutional acts cannot be tolerated.
“If he has committed any crime, present it to the court. She may have had a history of advocating for similar disappearances, mocking victims of the suffering of other media staffers attacked in the past. However, anyone who has been forcibly disappeared was bad then, and it is just as bad now,” he told Al Jazeera.
Another prominent journalist, Murtaza Solangi, told Al Jazeera that it is the state’s responsibility to find out who is responsible for the disappearance of Imran Riaz Khan, regardless of why he disappeared.
“I don’t know if they took him or disappeared himself. It’s the state’s job to find out. The money stops with them. Any citizen of this country, even if he or she is a criminal, should be brought to court and given due process as his or her right,” Solangi said.
Pakistan has a checkered record when it comes to press freedom and the safety of journalists.
Media staff have long been targeted by state authorities for their work, and many have been targeted or thrown out of their jobs.
The country was ranked 150th in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index published by RSF, an improvement of seven places in the ranking from the previous year.
Another journalist and presenter, Arshad Sharifhe had to flee Pakistan last year in August after receiving threats on his life, and was later killed in Kenya in October.
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