Two men linked to Pakistan’s major opposition party have been held without charge for more than seven months in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after being detained by the UAE allegedly at the behest of the reigning Pakistani military. Muhammad Junaid Jahangir and Syed Salman Raza disappeared in the UAE, where both lived and worked, in late September 2024. Both men were once part of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s digital media team, helping run social media accounts supporting his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Two men linked to Pakistan’s major opposition party have been held without charge for more than seven months in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after being detained by the UAE allegedly at the behest of the reigning Pakistani military. Muhammad Junaid Jahangir and Syed Salman Raza disappeared in the UAE, where both lived and worked, in late September 2024. Both men were once part of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s digital media team, helping run social media accounts supporting his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
“There have been threats of abduction against PTI activists abroad and it is well known that Pakistani military intelligence cooperates closely with the UAE,” said Azhar Mashwani, a PTI social media activist who knew the two detained men and has himself been previously arrested for his political activism. “They have been arrested and there is no legal remedy for them. No lawyer can access them, and no consular support or other basic information has been provided. Their families tried to hire a lawyer but were told that this is a national security issue and no one will handle their case.”