Reporter Rasool Dawar, pictured here with his children, has been detained twice by security forces in an ordeal he calls “torturous.” (image, Tanqeed) 

To The CEO GEO TV,

Respected Sir:

I want to bring in your kind notice some untoward happenings that I have come across with during the past two months. I have been picked up/arrested in Peshawar on two separate occasions for unknown reasons by security forces and kept me in custody under extremely torturous conditions.

I still feel frightened and am not comfortable at all to continue my professional duties at my work-stations in a free manner. Their threatening attitude and “advice” to leave the town for some times, prompted me to shift to Islamabad for about a week. However, I had no choice but to go back to the Peshawar where my family is also residing after it fled operation Zerb-e-Azb in North Waziristan.

Now am gravely concerned about my safety as it’s still uncertain when all this is going to end. The threat is not yet over. This is for the first time in my nine-year journalistic career that I have experienced such frightening situation in which I was even physically harassed.

The first incident happened in the afternoon of February 20. Some people dressed in the army uniform caught me right in front of my office at Khyber Super Market, Peshawar Cantt and put me in an army vehicle and drove towards an office in the garrison. I was not allowed to use my phone and all my belongings were taken from me.

At the office I was blind-folded and was made to stand near a wall. Some officials came and interrogated me for a long time. They were asking questions about my family, job, contacts, organization, and some senior journalists affiliated with my organization etc. After four long hours I was shifted to another office. I was still blind-folded. There I was informed that I had been released and tea was offered to me. After two hours in this office, my mobile phones and other stuff were returned to me. Then I was put in a car and dropped at the Warsak road away from my office as well as home, quite late in the night.

A few days after this incident, the officer who had interrogated me called me and asked me to come near Khalid Bin Walid Park in the cantonment area, where he made a brief chit-chat with me and allowed to go.

Two months later, on April 14, I was at the traffic headquarters adjacent to Gulbahar police station along with a senior colleague, Ansar Abbas, in connection with driving license. A police cop approached me and asked me to meet the station head officer of Gulbahar police station. As I reached the SHO office he arrested me and put me in lock-up at the basement of the office. The stinking smell of the room that was full with filth and dirt, I can’t forget even now.

After two hours at the police station, the SHO took me in his car towards the Cantt. I was blind-folded and hand-cuffed. After a drive of nearly 20 minutes I was dropped at an office where they unfolded my eyes, I found myself in the same office where I had been brought two months back. This time, the army officials were putting all the blame on police for arresting me. They claimed that they had nothing to do with my arrest, but the police were not ready to leave me. They advised me not to meet the police unless they tell me so. They also advised me to leave the town for some time and I shifted to Islamabad for five days.

When I went back to Peshawar after spending five days in Islamabad, the same officials called my office on our official phone number and asked about my whereabouts. Again, I had no option but to leave Peshawar for Islamabad.

Sir, you are aware of the environment in which we live and work for the last several years. In our part of the country such incidents can neither be ignored nor taken for granted. Therefore, I request you to please take appropriate steps to ensure my security. I would also request you to kindly take up the issue with the concerned authorities to get me out of this situation.

Regards!

M. Rasool Dawar

Special Correspondent

Geo News.

CC: Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.

Khyber Union of Journalists

Peshawar Press Club

International Federation of Journalists

Reporters without borders

Committee to Protect Journalists

DG ISPR

Governor KP

Chief Minister KP

IG Police KP

Link

“Journalist detained, asked about Hamid Mir, Bangladesh, / Media Watch”

Journalist Detained, Asked about Hamid Mir, Bangladesh | Media Watch

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.