Pakistan army denies involvement in abduction of British-Pakistani writer

The powerful Pakistani military has been heavily criticised by dual Pakistani-British national, Gul Bukhari on social media and in her articles in the run-up to the July 25 general election, for its alleged meddling in politics. 

But the army said it had checked every intelligence agency to see whether Bukhari had been detained by them shortly after the abduction was reported, maintaining it had no involvement in her disappearance.

“We have nothing to do with it. I think this incident should be investigated thoroughly,” Major General Asif Ghafoor said.

The British-Pakistani national was en route to record a television programme late on Tuesday in the eastern city of Lahore when her vehicle was intercepted, her husband and media colleagues said.

Bukhari was taken away by unidentified men before being released later.

Bukhari, herself the daughter of an army general, confirmed she was well and requested privacy through her Twitter account.

In her first comment since her abduction, Bukhari said in a tweet early on Sunday, without naming anyone: “Is there any shame? Any ethics, any grace? You just picked me?”

Along with her vocal criticism of the military, the activist has also defended former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who clashed with the military before he was forced out of office by the Supreme Court last year.

Pakistani media organisations have alleged growing censorship by the military in the run-up to the election, while rights groups have denounced the kidnappings of several social media activists over the past year as attempts to intimidate and silence critics of Pakistan’s security forces.

Last year, five bloggers went missing for several weeks. Four were released and fled abroad, with at least two later alleging that they were tortured by a state intelligence agency.