Islamabad police said on Thursday night that journalist Abid Mir, who was earlier reported to have gone “missing” in the capital, had returned home while his family refuted the claim.

In a tweet, the capital police said that a “false impression” of Abid going missing had been created after the journalist lost contact with his family.

The Islamabad police thanked all the citizens and journalists who contacted the force in this regard.

Brother refutes police’s claims

However, Abid’s brother Khalid refuted the police’s claims, saying that the journalist had neither returned home nor gotten in touch with his family.

Earlier in the day, Khalid had told Dawn.com that Abid had “gone missing” yesterday (March 8). He said that he last met Abid at noon after which the journalist left to attend Aurat March.

According to Khalid, Abid had informed him that he would be going to the bank. However, when he returned home at around 8pm, he discovered that Abid wasn’t home.

Khalid said he didn’t pay much attention at the time as Abid often left the house late at night to study with his friends.

However, he said that he received a call from his family earlier today in the morning in which they said that they could not get in touch with Abid.

Khalid said that he had filed a complaint with the Ramna police station regarding his brother’s disappearance. Khalid told Dawn.com that Abid often received threats due to his work but hadn’t received any of late.

Meanwhile, Lok Sujag — a digital news media platform — expressed grave concern over the alleged disappearance of Abid, who is their regional editor.

The platform said its team was in contact with the journalist till 5:30pm yesterday but hadn’t heard from him since then.

“His phone is switched off and his family has not been able to contact him. We urge authorities to take notice of it and ensure his safe return,” Lok Sujag said.

“With the type of relationship the state has with its citizens, we are thinking of the worst possible scenario for now,” said Lok Sujag Chief Operating Officer (CEO) Tahir Mehdi, adding that Abid was “picked up for being a Baloch voice”.