Interior minister hopeful of safe recovery of missing activists including Salman Haider

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan informed the Senate on Tuesday that he was hopeful that missing rights activist and Fatima Jinnah University professor Dr Salman Haider would soon be recovered.

The minister was briefing the Senate about the disappearance of Salman Haider from Islamabad, and three other social media activists Waqas Goraya, Asim Saeed, Saleem Haider and Ahmad Raza Naseer from other parts of Punjab.

Nisar said that he was in contact with intelligence agencies, adding that the safe recovery of the missing persons was the government's priority.

The federal government did not believe in forced disappearance of its citizens, he said, adding that such acts will not be tolerated at any level. He informed the lawmakers that a number of people have been recovered during the past three and a half years.

The interior minister said CCTV footage showed a Toyota Vigo vehicle chasing the vehicle of Dr Haider the evening of his disappearance. Later, the Vigo vehicle disappeared, but was later spotted moving towards Rawalpindi.

He disclosed that there are some traces and information regarding the missing Haider but it could not be shared at the moment.

Chaudhary Nisar also urged lawmakers to "avoid political point-scoring in the nation's resolve against terrorism".

It may be mentioned here that Haider, Goraya, Saeed, and Naseer went missing from Islamabad and various cities of Punjab between January 4 and January 7.