Senior journalist Matiullah Jan has reportedly gone missing from Islamabad, his wife confirmed.

She said that his car was parked outside a school in Sector G-6 of the capital with one of his mobile phones inside the vehicle.

Officials from the Aabpara Police Station have reached the area and are trying to acquire CCTV footage. SHO Shaukat Mehmood said that the journalist's wife has not yet filed an application to lodge a report on his disappearance.

A CCTV footage of his alleged abduction is being shared by journalists on social media, however, police have not commented on its veracity.

Jan had tweeted a video of a journalist's interview earlier in the day. "This is for the attention of those who sit in the simulated air-conditioned environment of rule of law in Pakistan and who think criticism on them is a bigger crime than the violation of the inviolable dignity of a human being," he wrote on Twitter at 11:05 AM this morning.

He was due to appear in the Supreme Court this week after it took suo moto notice of an alleged contemptuous tweet by the journalist.

As the news drew the attention of journalists and international rights bodies, a tweet was posted on Matiullah Jan's account at 3:17 PM — purportedly by his son — which read: "Matiullahjan, my father, has been abducted from the heart of the capital [Islamabad]. I demand he be foundُ and the agencies behind it immediately be held responsible. God keep him safe."

Five hashtags regarding Jan's disappearance are currently trending on Twitter in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, PPP’s Mustafa Nawaz Khokha, tweeted that the Islamabad inspector general of police had been summoned to brief the committee with regards to Jan’s abduction.

Rights groups, journalists alarmed
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded that the government "immediately ensure the safe recovery" of the journalist.

Amnesty International South Asia also called for authorities to "establish [Jan's] whereabouts immediately".

In a tweet, the international human rights organisation said it was "extremely concerned for the fate and wellbeing" of the journalist, who it said has been the subject of "physical attacks and harassment for his journalism".

Freedom Network expressed "concern" at reports of Jan's disappearance.

Dawn editor Zaffar Abbas termed the development "extremely disturbing" and "highly condemnable" and called upon editors to play their role by airing news of his disappearance.

Journalist Asma Shirazi tweeted: "What the hell? Unknown people picked up [Matiullah Jan] from Aabpara. Really unknown?"

Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Mohsin Dawar "strongly condemned" Jan's disappearance and demanded his "safe recovery".

Former Dawn editor Abbas Nasir tweeted about the journalist's disappearance, saying that "such acts of desperation will not prolong this fascist era" and prayed that Jan was well.

Former senator Afrasiab Khattak said that the journalist's "enforced disappearance in Islamabad under the very nose of Parliament, Supreme Court and media is a serious affront". He added that the parliamentarians, judges and journalists could "protest on Constitution Avenue if nothing else".

Anchorperson Najam Sethi started a petition on Change.org calling for Jan's "immediate release".

https://www.dawn.com/news/1570325/journalist-matiullah-jan-missing-from-islamabad