Renowned TV anchor and Pakistan Awam Raj Tehreek chief Iqrar-ul-Hassan has been arrested from his home in Lahore.
According to reports, personnel dressed in plain clothes arrived at Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s house in Lahore’s DHA Phase 8 at around 3 am and took him away.
It has been reported that female personnel were also present alongside police officers, with the badges on their uniforms bearing the name of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s wife, Farah Iqrar, has claimed that unidentified individuals entered their home in Lahore at around 3 am on the night between Sunday and Monday and abducted her husband.
According to Farah Iqrar, the individuals who took Iqrar-ul-Hassan away also took mobile phones, a laptop, a digital video recorder and CCTV footage from the house.
In a video uploaded to the social media platform Facebook, Farah Iqrar said that they were asleep at night when the doorbell began ringing continuously, prompting her to go outside and check.
According to her, when she looked down from the terrace, she saw some individuals in the courtyard of the house and others outside.
Farah Iqrar said that the individuals were wearing masks over their faces and were saying, “Bring Iqrar outside.”
According to Farah Iqrar, the individuals subsequently broke down the lower entrance door, entered the house and came upstairs.
In the video uploaded to Facebook, Farah said that women were also present with these individuals and that she saw the letters “NCCIA” written on their arms.
In addition, a video message from Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s first wife, Qurat-ul-Ain Iqrar, has also emerged. In the message, she said that no one knows for what purpose her husband was abducted. She appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to help secure Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s recovery.
Private news channel anchorperson Waseem Badami also confirmed in a video that he had received reports regarding Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s arrest. Waseem Badami has worked with Iqrar-ul-Hassan on several programmes.
Waseem Badami said that the personnel who took Iqrar-ul-Hassan away were dressed in plain clothes and that female personnel were also accompanying them.
It is pertinent to note that Iqrar-ul-Hassan is the chief of the Pakistan Awam Raj Tehreek and a former anchor at a private television channel.
So far, the reasons for Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s reported arrest have not emerged, nor have details of any case against him been released. An official statement regarding the arrest from the relevant authorities is also awaited.
In a video the wives of Awaam Raj Party leader Iqrar ul Hassan were seen consoling each other following his reported disappearance.