The army said it will not be distracted from the war after the attack
Prominent Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir returned home on Friday, a day after his abduction by unidentified armed men in the southern city of Karachi, which prompted widespread outcry in the country.
On Thursday, Nasir was intercepted by armed men in two vehicles on his way home with his wife.
"I have returned home safely," Nasir posted on Twitter, thanking those who called for his immediate release. He pledged to continue his struggle for rights of Pakistanis.
He did not mention whose custody he was in or the circumstances under which had been released.
Nasir, who contested the 2018 elections as an independent candidate, has been an outspoken critic of multiple human rights violations in the country and represented victims as a lawyer in a number of prominent cases.
Lately, he has criticised the mass arrests of leaders from former prime minister Imran Khan's party and the move to try them in military courts following violent protests earlier month.
Rights groups say the military courts infringe on due legal process.
Leading journalists have been abducted in similar circumstances, and Pakistan's powerful intelligence services are often suspected of intimidating critics in this way, though their involvement has rarely been proved.
Nasir's abduction sparked widespread criticism on social media by journalists, activists and ordinary Pakistanis, and his supporters protested outside the Karachi Press club on Friday.
Earlier, Mansha Pasha, Nasir's wife, said the two were driving home when they were intercepted by a white pickup truck and a sedan.
"After that, at least 15, probably more men in civilian clothing came and told Jibran to get out of the car," Pasha, a well known actor, told Reuters, adding that all the men were armed, some with automatic weapons.
She said they gave no explanation at to why Nasir was being taken.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights body, had called for Nasir to be released unharmed, and for his abductors to be held accountable.
ALSO READ:
The army said it will not be distracted from the war after the attack
Prices of petrol and high-speed diesel to be pushed up by about PKR 2.50 and PKR 8.50 per litre
Tension in the Middle East has further bolstered gold
Upon arrival, Scholz condemned the Iranian strikes on Israel
Police have named the assailant as 40-year-old itinerant man Joel Cauchi
Family expresses condolences to the victims
The airline has already suspended flights to and from Tehran until April 18
All flights at Egyptian airports are according to the usual schedules, except for some flights heading to countries that have closed their airspace, said the govt