Fifth activist goes missing

ISLAMABAD: A fifth Pakistani social media activist has gone missing from the capital Islamabad, a colleague said on Wednesday, days after four other campaigners disappeared in a way that has alarmed supporters of free speech.

Samar Abbas, President of the Civil Progressive Alliance of Pakistan (CPAP), an anti-extremism activist group, went missing on Saturday, according to Talib Raza, who worked with him at the Karachi-based organisation.

Abbas's brother, also named Talib, told local media on Wednesday that his brother had vanished over the weekend. "The family waited for a few days to inform people. When the stories about other activists disappearing started emerging, it became clear what was going on," Raza told Reuters.

It is not known how the four activists went missing last week, but some rights groups and newspapers are questioning whether state or agencies were in any way involved.

The United Nations and international human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, on Wednesday also voiced concerns about the disappearance. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted in a statement the difficulties surrounding free expression in Pakistan.Human rights lawyer Jibran Nasir has filed an application with Supreme Court requesting judicial intervention. The Supreme Court has not yet responded to his request. "By intimidating and picking up social media activists like this, they have taken away our microphones," said Nasir.