Imran Riaz Khan is a well known Pakistani journalist who was arrested by the Pakistan police on 11th May, 2023, and ultimately released on 25th September
There was wide speculation in the media about his disappearance for over 4 months, and some even feared he was dead.
He was interviewed by many persons after his release, and he appeared to have become a totally changed man– old, weak and haggard–a shadow of what he earlier was. He was also not disclosing anything about his captors ( probably out of fear that this may lead to another arrest ), but the general opinion is that they belonged to Pakistan’s ISI ( the military intelligence ). From his physical appearance it seemed he was subjected to brutal third degree methods during his captivity.
Why was he kept in custody and treated brutally for 4 months ? Nobody has answered this question but I will hazard a guess.
Everyone knows that the real ruler of Pakistan is its army ( though there may be a figleaf of civilian rule ). Criticism of the army is highly dangerous in Pakistan, and most Pakistanis avoid talking about it.
However, Imran Riaz Khan was often highly critical of the Pakistan army, and he was made to pay the penalty for this, both to silence him, and also to set an example for others.
There is a story of a man who told his friend that his father was a very brave man, who once fought with a tiger. His friend asked what happened thereafter ? The man replied ” What could happen ? The tiger tore him up and ate him up ”.
The moral of the story is that one should know his limits. Zyaada rangabaazi karna theek nahi hai.
I do not mean to say that one should not criticise wrongdoings. But one should not do so directly with a stronger enemy. Instead, one should use guerilla tactics, that is to say, one should not criticise directly but indirectly, by allusions, suggestions, metaphors, hints, etc, the way many Urdu poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Josh Malihabadi, etc did ( see Faiz’ poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ ).
Evidently Imran Riaz Khan forgot this, and paid the price