Journalist Waheed Murad reportedly abducted from his residence in Islamabad

Senior journalist Waheed Murad has reportedly been abducted from his residence in Islamabad late Tuesday night by unknown individuals, according to his family.

"Some masked men knocked on their door at 2:00 am and called Murad an Afghan national," claimed the journalist's wife, Shinza Nawaz, who is also a journalist.

Mrs Murad, who currently resides in Canada, stated that her mother, who was at home at the time, prevented Murad from opening the door.

"Despite Murad showing them his CNIC from the space below the main entrance gate to clarify his nationality, they broke the gate and dragged him to the vehicle," she said. 

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The alleged kidnappers arrived in two Vigo cars accompanied by a police mobile.

Shinza also stated that her mother, who is a cardiac and joint pain patient, was tortured by the intruders. "They confiscated phones and took him away after putting him in the car," she said. 

Despite multiple calls to the police, Murad’s friends and colleagues who visited the police station were unable to get an abduction case registered.

Shinza Nawaz further said that Murad’s colleague, who attempted to chase the assailants' vehicles, was brutally beaten.

Notably, Waheed Murad was previously associated with 'News One' and the daily 'Ausaf' as a reporter. He also runs his news website 'Pakistan 24' and was active on social media.

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When Waheed Murad was being taken from his house to a car, his office colleague Soban Iftikhar Raja witnessed the incident. In a video shared on X, Soban said that as soon as he learned about the incident, he immediately went outside Waheed's house and started recording videos. 

Later, when the vehicles started moving, Soban chased them. When the assailants became aware of this, they hit his motorcycle and started torturing him by snatching his mobile phone.