Prominent Pakistani journalist abducted in Islamabad, later released

Matiullah Jan was abducted from Islamabad's Sector G-6 in broad daylight, media reports said.

He returned home late Tuesday night.

Family sources told Dawn News Jan was released by unidentified persons in a deserted area in Fateh Jang, outside the capital.

He is sound and was not tortured during the period of his abduction, the sources said.

Speaking to Dawn.com earlier in the day, Jan’s wife had said that his car was found parked outside a school in Sector G-6 of the capital with one of his mobile phones inside the vehicle.

In his career, Jan has worked for  numerous local and foreign media outlets.

An Islamabad police spokesman told Dawn News at the time that officers had begun gathering information in the case.

A purported video footage of the abduction incident has gone viral  on the social media.

Jan was taken a day before he was to appear in the country's top court in a contempt case brought against him after he criticised the court's verdict in a case involving a top judge, reports BBC.

"A caller from an unknown number rang me up to tell me come to Fatehjang [on the western outskirts of Islamabad] and take Matiullah home," his brother Shahid Abbasi, a lawyer, told BBC on his abduction and release.

According to Abbasi, Jan told the family that during his captivity he was blindfolded and repeatedly driven from one place to another, reported the British media.

Meanwhile, welcoming his release, Pakistan's Science and Technology Minister Fawad Hussain tweeted: "Delighted to hear this good news ... welcome back."

Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also welcomed the release of the scribe and tweeted: "Glad to see @Matiullahjan919 free. Such actions are in violation of our Constitution & our int obligations under HR conventions Pak ratified. Citizens cannot live in a constant state of fear and due legal process is the right of all citizens in any democracy."