Wife of missing Pakistani journalist asks Prime Minister (PM) to intervene
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been asked to intervene in the effort to locate Pakistani national Syed Fawad Ali, who is said to have gone missing since Aug 23.
Syed Fawad worked as a journalist known for exposing corrupt practices in Pakistan. He fled to Malaysia in 2009 seeking refuge and protection.
His wife, who wished to be known as Syeda, said she also welcomed assistance from associations or human rights organisations to find her husband.
Syeda, who is also a Pakistani national, was adamant on wanting to find out what had happened and the reasons behind her husband’s disappearance who carried a UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) refugee card.
“I was asked to cover up some court cases involving high-ranking figures in Umno and Barisan Nasional”, claims Anwar.
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“We are a Muslim couple and got married last year in a ceremony that was carried out online. Then in February, I came to Malaysia for a month to meet my husband before I returned to Pakistan where I found out that I was expecting.
“I kept in touch with my husband every night, though on Aug 23 he could not be contacted. I got in touch with his housemate and asked that a police report be lodged at the Brickfields police station.
“After that, I got in touch with the investigating officer who informed that the Immigrations
Department in Putrajaya had detained my husband. Police did not investigate further regarding the matter and instead handed it over to the department.
“I was asked to come to Malaysia to resolve the issue. Following this, I started getting panic attacks, high blood pressure and rapid heartbeats before experiencing a miscarriage,” she said during a press conference at Menara Sentral Vista in Brickfields today.
Also present were Parti Kemajuan Malaysia (MAP) president, P Waytha Moorthy and MAP’s information chief, V Mathavan.
Syeda said she arrived in Malaysia on Dec 19 and two days after that proceeded to the police station, however she failed to obtain any information about her husband’s whereabouts.
She then made the decision to go to the Immigration Department’s headquarters in Putrajaya last Friday.
“I saw my husband’s picture donning dark purple attire at the department’s headquarters, though suddenly the officers hid the picture. The officer then said that I was late and that my husband had already been sent back to his country of origin.
“How can the authorities send my husband back without informing his family? I asked to be showed details but was not entertained.
“At such a critical juncture, this is why I am appealing and asking anyone to please help in locate my husband and ensure that he is safe,” she said.
Apart from this, Syeda said checks with the Pakistan High Commission in Malaysia confirmed that there were no documents to confirm that Syed Fawad was deported to his country of origin.
“Two days ago, a staff from the High Commission informed me that he was confident that there is no information regarding him being sent back home,” she said.
Meanwhile, Waytha Moorthy, who is also a former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that Syed Fawad is a journalist who focuses on investigative reporting and has therefore written many articles regarding corruption cases and on people going missing in Pakistan.
“I believe there is a possibility the Immigration Department cooperated with the Pakistan authorities to detain Syed Fawad in this country.” he said.
Source: New Straits Times
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