RAWALPINDI: Kareem Khan, an anti-drone activist, is missing after being kidnapped from his home in Rawalpindi, his lawyer Shahzad Akbar said.
Khan, whose brother and teenage son were killed in a US drone attack that targeted his home in the tribal area of North Waziristan in December 2009, was seized at his home by 15 to 20 men in the early hours of February 5 and has not been heard from ever since, his lawyer said.
“We lodged a report with the local police but they denied having picked him up. I checked with the central office of the police and they have no such arrest in their record, it seems to be work of the intelligence agencies,” Akbar said.
“The men did not disclose their identities and no reason was given for the detention. Khan’s wife and young children were present at the time, as was a neighbour,” he added.
Khan, who was involved in legal proceedings against the Pakistani government over the deaths of his relatives and had filed a case in the Islamabad High Court against drones strikes, was due to travel to Europe this Saturday to speak with German, Dutch and British parliamentarians about his personal experience with drone strikes and the impact they are having on his country.
