KARACHI: Iqbal Abro, a young trade unionist, has gone missing in the Korangi Industrial Area, with trade union leaders alleging that he was taken away by the police at the behest of influential industrialists as he had raised his voice against forced retrenchment at an industrial unit, officials and activists said.

However, the Korangi district police denied the allegation of detaining Mr Abro.

The activists held a protest demonstration outside Karachi Press Club on Sunday evening.

The protest was organised on the call of the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF-P).

The participants, including women, carried portraits of Mr Abro, and demanded his release from an “illegal custody”.

Talking to the media on the occasion, Nasir Mehmood, Comrade Gul Rehman and other trade union leaders alleged that young trade unionist was kidnapped by the Awami Colony police, subjected to torture, and later shifted to an unknown location.

They termed it an enforced disappearance and alleged that an influential industrialist was involved behind it, as the young activist had been speaking about the rights of the workers who had been retrenched by the industrial unit without justification.

They also said that a petition to this effect had been filed before the Sindh High Court.

They urged Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to secure the release of Mr Abro from the “illegal custody” of the police.

The NTUF-P leaders warned that if the activist was not released, they would decide a future course of action at a labour conference scheduled to be held in the site area on Sunday evening.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026