Abdullah Zafar, a journalist associated with English daily The Nation who was allegedly taken away from his residence in Lawyers’ Society Karachi in the early hours of Sunday, returned home after being held for nearly 20 hours.

Abdullah was dropped off near Karachi airport late Sunday night by the same men who had picked him up from his residence.

"The motive behind my detention is uncertain, so is the identity of those who abducted me," Abdullah wrote in a text message to his colleagues.

Abdullah's father, Zafar, had told Dawn that around 10 to 15 people had come to his house at around 3:30am and taken Abdullah away after blindfolding him. Two of the men were in police uniforms while the remaining men, who had arrived in three vehicles, were in plain clothes, he added.

According to Zafar, the men had also detained his brother after raiding his residence in Shah Faisal Colony.

The plain-clothed men accused Abdullah of giving a "fake cheque" worth Rs50 million, which they said later "bounced". Zafar, however, claimed that his son was innocent and such allegations were "laughable", adding that his son has no association with any religious or political party.

Zafar alleged that an officer at the Sachal police station received his application but "appeared to be reluctant to register the FIR" on his complaint.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Malir, Rao Anwar, told Dawn that the police was not involved in Abdullah's alleged abduction, adding that the Inspector General of Police, A.D. Khawaja, had also asked him to look into the disappearance of the journalist.

Rao Anwar said that he has directed the Sachal police SHO to lodge the case if the family submitted an application.

Zamir Shaikh, resident editor of The Nation in Karachi, told Dawn that Abdullah has been covering the political beat in the newspaper for the last three years.