Jibran Nasir speaks with media outside his home in Karachi after his return
Nearly 24 hours after he was ‘abducted’ from Karachi by unidentified armed men, lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir returned home safely, thanking supporters and well-wishers for fighting to secure his speedy release.
“I will keep struggling for worthy causes that I have been fighting for, which is the reason for which you all stood with me and my family,” he said in a posting on Twitter and in a brief media interaction outside his home on Friday night. He also thanked all “friends, colleagues especially journalists, lawyers, bar councils, civil society and politicians” for their efforts in ensuring his safe return. He further noted that “disappearances” in Pakistan was neither a new phenomenon, nor a particularly unique one.
Earlier in the day, police in Karachi had registered a case of Nasir’s abduction on the complaint of his wife, Mansha Pasha, after delaying the process for nearly 12 hours. Pasha, who Nasir lauded for her “courage and willpower” in struggling for his safe return, had issued a video statement immediately after his “abduction,” narrating how 15 armed men in two vehicles had abducted him while they were returning to their home in DHA Karachi.
“My husband Jibran Nasir, who is a renowned lawyer and has done much for the country, was abducted by some people,” she said and urged the public to raise their voice for his release.
Nasir’s abduction had triggered an outpouring of condemnations, with well-wishers staging protests in Karachi and social media users demanding he be recovered swiftly. An open letter signed by 200 prominent lawyers of Pakistan likewise demanded his release, while lawyers’ bodies condemned the “kidnapping” and warned of further action if he were not immediately returned to his home.