PTI's Azhar Mashwani comes home after eight days

After having been “missing” for several days, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's social media focal person Azhar Mashwani reached home safely on Friday.

Last week, Mashwani was picked up by the police. The charges levelled at him apparently included criticism of the Punjab police and the caretaker government for targeting PTI workers.

“Alhamdulillah, I have just returned home safe and sound. Your prayers, efforts, and support in these 8 days have indebted us forever — Jazak Allah. We pray that our other captive workers will break [their] fast with their families soon,” Mashwani tweeted.

On March 23, Khan took to Twitter to claim that his “social media focal person Azhar Mashwani” had been “kidnapped” from Lahore.

In his tweet, Imran Khan said: “Enough is enough. Police in Punjab & Islamabad are breaking all laws with impunity as they target PTI. Today Azhar Mashwani was abducted in the afternoon from Lahore & his whereabouts are unknown. On 18 March Senator Shibli Faraz & Omar Sultan were badly beaten by ICT police.”

Three days after Khan alleged Mashwani has been abducted, a sessions court instructed the Lahore police to register a case over Mashwani’s alleged abduction.

Over the weekend, the police registered a case against “unidentified persons” for kidnapping the PTI media person.

The First Incident Report (FIR) alleged that Mashwani had been missing since March 23. He was going to Zaman Park in a cab, on the said day, when his mobile phone was switched off and he seemed to become unreachable.

Mashwani’s brother in the FIR claimed that he had been kidnapped by “unidentified people” and taken to an undisclosed location.

Yesterday, Mashwani's brother filed an application to the Lahore High Court, requesting that Mashwani be recovered and produced before the court.

The court then directed FIA to produce Mashwari in court by April 3.

The PTI also launched a countrywide protest against the “illegal abduction” of its SMT members.