LAHORE: Six robbers took away cash and other valuables worth over Rs2 million from senior journalist and anchor Imtiaz Alam’s home at Raiwind on Sunday.

The armed men took away local and foreign currency, gold ornaments and diamond sets, mobile phone sets and other valuables.

Mr Alam’s wife Dr Nusrat Habib, a retired executive director of the Punjab Institute of Mental Health, told Dawn that the robbers barged into her house around 2.30am when she and her two daughters were asleep.

She said one of the robbers entered the house by scaling the boundary wall and then unlocked the main gate to make way for five of his accomplices.

She said the heavily armed robbers overpowered the driver and the guard and entered the main portion of the house by cutting windows with instruments.

“They collected gold jewellery, foreign and local currency and diamond sets from all the rooms,” Dr Nusrat added.

She said the armed men, some of whom wore gloves, appeared to be accomplished criminals. They escaped after about an hour when a neighbour knocked at the gate.

Imtiaz Alam is currently on a visit to the United States.

A team comprising officials from police and the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) visited the journalist’s house to launch an investigation. According to an official, forensic experts collected fingerprint samples and inspected the surroundings in search of CCTV footage.

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors has deplored the robbery and called upon the authorities to investigate it and bring the criminals to justice.

Arif Nizami, president, and Jabbar Khattak, secretary general, of the CPNE, said the incident was a sad comment on the prevailing lawlessness in society.

Qamar Zaman Bhatti, president of the Punjab Union of Journalists, and Lahore Press Club president Arshad Ansari have also condemned the incident.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2020