Taliban assaults Pakistani journalist Anas Mallick in Kabul

August 06, 2022 10:36

Pakistani journalist Anas Mallick/ANI

Pakistani journalist Anas Mallick, who was in Afghanistan to cover the first anniversary of the Taliban's takeover of the country, was abducted and physically assaulted by the Taliban.

Later Pakistan's ambassador to the neighbouring country Mansoor Ahmad Khan on Friday confirmed that he is safe.

Mallick, who works for an Indian news channel, landed in Afghanistan on Wednesday to cover the Taliban's takeover and the recent assassination of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike.

Reports of Mallick going missing began circulating Thursday night, a day after he had reached Afghanistan.

His fellow journalist was one of the first persons to share the news of Mallick's disappearance Thursday night, in a tweet.

She shared that his phones were not reachable and no information about him was available with the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, which had begun conducting preliminary inquiries with the Taliban government.

Later, Pakistan's ambassador to the Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan confirmed Friday that Mallick has now been located in Kabul and is safe.

"Regarding reports about Pakistani journalist Anas Malik, I have just talked to him on phone briefly. He is in Kabul and safe. Embassy will remain in touch with him," the envoy tweeted.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto had also shared the information via Twitter.

Mallick also took to Twitter to inform about his safety, saying, "I am back".

He was reported missing the next day after filing a story about the safehouse where Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike. -- ANI

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