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Alert

Journalist Sohail Qalander missing for 24 days

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the lack of any action from the Pakistani authorities in response to the disappearance of Peshawar-based journalist Sohail Qalander of the "Daily Express" newspaper, who went missing with a friend, Mohammad Niaz, on 2 January 2007 near the Khyber Agency tribal area.

"It is impossible to say if Qalander's disappearance is linked to his work as a journalist, but it raises once again the issue of the protection of citizens, including journalists, in certain parts of the country," the press freedom organisation said. "Twenty-four days have gone by since these two men were reported missing and the investigation seems to have made no progress. We expect a concerted effort by the authorities in Peshawar and Islamabad to find them safe and sound."

Shamim Shahid, the head of the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ), has ruled out any possibility of government involvement in their abduction and says everything suggests they were kidnapped for ransom.

The abandoned vehicle of Qalander and Niaz was found on 2 January in Hayatabad, which is on the outskirts of Peshawar (the capital of North-West Frontier Province) and near the Khyber Agency. So far, no one claiming to have kidnapped them has contacted their families or colleagues.

Journalists have stepped up protests over the case in the past week, above all accusing the authorities of being ineffective. Journalists' organisations had warned that if there is no significant progress in the investigation by 26 January, they would launch a national campaign. "When a journalist's life is threatened, the lives of all citizens are in danger," Shahid said.