Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Thursday took notice of the disappearance of social activists and citizens from Islamabad and Lahore, and directed the interior ministry to submit a report on their disappearance.

At least five online activists and social media campaigners have gone missing within a week from Islamabad and Lahore.

Rabbani directed the ministry to submit its report before the Senate by tomorrow (Friday).

The Senate chairman urged the government to disclose why these citizens went missing. "It will be a matter of more concern if a gang has been abducting people from Islamabad," he added.

Two of the missing — Waqas Goraya and Asim Saeed — reportedly disappeared on January 4, while Salman Haider is said to be missing since Friday night (Jan 6). Moreover, Ahmed Raza Naseer and Samar Abbas were reported missing on Jan 7.

Earlier this week, the matter was taken up on the floor of the Senate, when Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had briefed the house on the measures taken to recover the abducted men.

“This government is not in the business of abducting people and we will not tolerate such disappearances while we are in power,” the minister had told the Senate, adding that he was in touch with senior intelligence officials.

Furthermore on Tuesday, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had also been constituted to probe Salman Haider’s disappearance. However, no substantial development has been reported as yet.