Syeda says her husband’s disappearance has taken a physical and mental toll on her.
KUALA LUMPUR: The wife of Pakistani journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah has pleaded to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to intervene in her husband’s disappearance.
Fawad’s wife, Syeda, said she was also appealing to the public, NGOs and the Malaysian authorities to help find him.
“I am going through a critical phase in my life. I am asking help from the prime minister to find my husband.
“I am worried about him. So, please help me,” she said at a press conference here today.
Fawad, who has been in exile in Malaysia for over 10 years to escape alleged persecution in Pakistan, has been missing since Aug 23.
Syeda said the stress of trying to find her husband had taken a toll on her physically and mentally, resulting in a miscarriage.
“Before my husband went missing, we found out that I was pregnant and we were very happy to start a family,” she said. “But I started having panic attacks and high blood pressure, which resulted in us losing our child.”
Fearing repercussions in her home country, Syeda said she was unsure of the consequences she might face talking to the media. “But I will fight for my husband until my last breath,” she said.
On Wednesday, Syeda said she had been told by an immigration official that Fawad was wanted for crimes in Pakistan.
Fawad, 41, who holds a UNHCR refugee card, had sought asylum in Malaysia for alleged persecution in Pakistan over his articles in several English dailies there related to government corruption.
Lawyer Karthigesan Shanmugam, who was also at the press conference, said once Syeda had exhausted all options to find Fawad, the legal team would step in and seek judicial assistance.
He said they would go to court if left with no options.
There have been conflicting remarks on Fawad’s whereabouts, with a foreign ministry source claiming yesterday that he was still in Malaysia.
Disturbing affair, says Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific director Daniel Bastard said it was “extremely disturbing” that no one within the Malaysian government was able to say where Fawad was.
“Let’s not be fooled. If Fawad is still in Malaysia, it means that local authorities are not able to protect a refugee on their own soil, which is a clear sign of incompetence.
“If he has actually been deported, it means that they knowingly breached their international obligations towards the United Nations Human Rights Council,” he said in a statement.
Bastard said the home ministry must clarify the situation urgently, adding that failure to do so would reflect badly on Malaysia’s press freedom.
