Islamabad, May 30 (IANS/AKI) The Pakistani correspondent of the Italian news agency AKI, who was abducted in 2006 by the Taliban, has gone missing since Sunday, officials said Monday.
Syed Saleem Shahzad was earlier kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in November 2006. He was released a few days later.
Shahzad has been working for AKI since 2004.
He reportedly failed to arrive at a TV station in Islamabad where he was to take part in a programme Sunday, officials said.
He has not been in touch with his family or colleagues. They also have been unable to reach him on telephone.
Shahzad’s mobile phone and car have not been traced yet.
After he was abducted in 2006, he contacted his wife and told her that he and another Pakistani journalist, Qamar Yousafzai, were being held hostage by Taliban commander Matiullah.
They were seized on suspicion of being spies. They were reportedly tried by the militants and released after they admitted to wrongdoing.
The two journalists reached the border with Pakistan seven days after they were kidnapped.
