The Taliban kidnapped and severely beat Pakistani journalist Anas Mallick when he was in Afghanistan to cover the first anniversary of the Taliban's invasion. However, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to the neighbouring nation, later stated that he was safe, news agency ANI reported.
Mallick, a reporter for the WION News Channel in India, arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday to chronicle the Taliban's takeover and the recent US drone attack that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
A day after arriving in Afghanistan, on Thursday night, reports of Anas Mallick missing started to spread.
One of the first people to tweet about Anas Mallick's disappearance was a fellow journalist who worked with him.
She said that the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, which had started making preliminary enquiries with the Taliban regime, had no way of getting in touch with him and had no information about him.
Later, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, announced that Mallick had been found and was safe.
Taking to Twitter, the Khan stated, "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."
Bilawal Bhutto, the foreign minister of Pakistan, also tweeted the details. Mallick also posted on Twitter with the message "I'm back" to let people know he was okay.
After publishing a piece about the safehouse where the al-Qaeda leader was murdered in a drone attack, he was reported missing the next day. Recently, Anas Mallick had an interview with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bhutto outside of the SCO summit in Tashkent.
Narrating the account of what transpired Mallick said, "We were handcuffed, blindfolded, and faced the wildest accusations and after that were questioned thoroughly on our journalistic credentials as well. Personal questions were also hurled at us. Late in the evening yesterday, at around 9:30 (local time), I was moved into a room where I was told I will be allowed to walk free once the translator shows up."
He displayed his ripped garments and injuries as well as his traumatic experience.
Mallick has already travelled to the area. He has written extensively on the Taliban's ascendancy when the United States left Afghanistan last year.
The local producer and his driver are still being imprisoned by the Taliban, which is significant. Although they stated that they will be making them available shortly, nothing has changed.
The Pulitzer-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was unlawfully abducted, tortured, and executed by the Taliban on July 16, 2021, while documenting the confrontations between Afghan government forces and the Taliban. His corpse was then disfigured.
There have been several incidences involving the assault of citizens, including journalists, therefore this was not an unusual occurrence.
(With Inputs From ANI)