Prominent Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir has said he returned home a day after his wife reported that he had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the southern city of Karachi, sparking widespread outrage in the country.
“I got home safe,” Nasir posted on Twitter on Friday, thanking those calling for his immediate release. He promised to continue his fight for the rights of Pakistanis.
He did not specify whose custody he was in or under what circumstances he was released.
His tweet about his release came after dozens of protesters held a rally in Karachi to condemn the report that he had been kidnapped.
Earlier, Nasir’s wife said the couple were on their way home after going out for dinner Thursday night when a group of armed men in two vans intercepted their car in an upscale neighborhood.
The men took Nasir but left her unharmed, the lawyer’s wife, Mansha Pasha, said. She said she did not know who was behind the kidnapping.
The incident appeared to be the latest in a recent spate of kidnappings in Pakistan, which rights groups have said could be enforced disappearances at the hands of the secret service.
Amnesty International said Pakistani authorities should “promptly and impartially investigate and determine his whereabouts”.
“If Jibran is in custody, he must either be released immediately or, if there is sufficient evidence, take him to a civil court,” the London-based watchdog said on Twitter.
Amnesty International condemns the kidnapping of Jibran Nasir late last night. According to media reports, about 15 unidentified men in civilian clothes kidnapped him near his residence. The kidnapping of Jibran Nasir is yet another case the country has seen in recent weeks in the… https://t.co/jrLtWDyWQu
— Amnesty International South Asia Regional Office (@amnestysasia) June 2, 2023
Nasir, who ran as an independent candidate in the 2018 elections, has been an outspoken critic of human rights abuses and has represented victims as an attorney in a number of high-profile cases.
He has recently criticized the mass arrests of leaders of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party and the move to try them in military courts following violent protests last month.
Nasir’s brief kidnapping came during an ongoing crackdown on Khan supporters linked to last month’s protests and attacks on military installations and public property.
Violence broke out following Khan’s May 9 arrest by a court in Islamabad, where he was appearing in a corruption case.
The unrest only eased when the country’s Supreme Court released Khan. Since then, police have arrested more than 5,000 people in connection with the violence.
Parliament removed Khan in a vote of no confidence in April 2022.
Rights groups have said the military courts violate due process.
While Pakistani law prohibits detention without court authorization, security officials have often detained suspects for alleged links to armed groups.
Leading journalists have been kidnapped under similar circumstances and Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services are often suspected of intimidating critics in this way, although their involvement has rarely been proven.