ISLAMABAD: Television anchor Moeed Pirzada and his sister have been detained in Abu Dhabi.

Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said Mr Pirzada was under detention since Tuesday (Aug 4).

The official didn’t say anything about the charges under which Mr Pirzada and his sister had been arrested.

“Our embassy has been trying to help him,” the spokesman said, adding that he had been granted consular access.

“We are trying to get him out,” the spokesman for Pakistan Mission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abdul Wahid told Dawn by phone and expressed the hope that the matter would be resolved soon.

Mr Pirzada was in UAE for attending to his ailing father.

In his tweet posted on Friday afternoon, Mr Pirzada said: “My father is critically ill and spending time with him overseas. Keep us in your prayers!”

His father is in criti-cal condition and admit-ted to the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Mr Pirzada’s sister, who was detained along with him, is a medical practitioner in United Arab Emirates .

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2015

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