A week after she was kidnapped in Karachi, 20-year-old law student Dua Mangi returned home on Saturday, a statement issued by South Zone DIG Sharjeel Kharal's office confirmed.

The statement added that the investigation in the case is ongoing and police will soon provide further information.

Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir welcomed Mangi's return, noting that her kidnappers were still at large.

"Two kidnappings [in] DHA in 6 months both times kidnappers weren't caught. The hunt for them must continue otherwise God forbid one of our family members could be the next victims," he tweeted.

Late on November 30, Mangi was kidnapped by armed men from Bukhari Commercial in Karachi's DHA while her friend Haris Fatah Soomro was shot at and wounded.

On Thursday, DIG Kharal had said: "It appears to be a case of kidnapping for ransom." He had said that it had been ascertained through investigation that the student was kidnapped for ransom, without elaborating. The DIG South was leading different teams of police probing the incident.

Police had said on Tuesday that they suspected a criminal gang was behind Mangi's abduction.

Members of the civil society had also staged a protest at the city's Teen Talwar roundabout. Mangi's sister had told media that the family was not satisfied with the police's performance as "despite the passage of three days, the police have failed to recover her".

Additional reporting by Imtiaz Ali