KAJANG: Pakistani journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah has been deported to Islamabad in August last year, the Home Ministry confirmed.
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Its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the previous federal government had deported Syed Fawad following a diplomatic request by the Pakistani government.
He said Syed Fawad had been in Malaysia for over a decade and the Pakistani government requested the authorities here to locate and send him back.
“Acting on the request made via diplomatic channels, the (Malaysian) government at the time located him and, on the third week of August had sent him back to Islamabad.
“I can confirm this based on official records. We acted according to the request,,” he said during a visit to the Prisons Department headquarters here today.
Saifuddin said Syed Fawad, who was branded as a journalist, was a former policeman with disciplinary issues according to a Pakistani government source.
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“He has a flair for writing, he mostly criticised the (Pakistani) government and was looked up to as a journalist,” he said.
Syed Fawad’s wife, Syeda, had recently claimed that he had gone missing since Aug 23 and appealed for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to find him.
Syed Fawad known for exposing corrupt practices in Pakistan. He had fled to Malaysia in 2009 to seek refuge and protection.
Syeda said Syed Fawad was a United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees card holder.
She said she had been in touch with Syed Fawad until Aug 23 when he became uncontactable and later got to know that he had been detained by the Immigration Department.-NST