Controversy over Pakistani “journalist” deported from Malaysia

KUALAL LUMPUR: The fate of a Pakistani “journalist” who was deported from Malaysia upon a request from his home country has waded into controversy amid conflicting claims.

Syed Fawad Ali Shah, who was in exile in Malaysia for more than 10 years, has been missing since Aug 23 last year.

Malaysia’s home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that Malaysia had obliged Pakistan’s request to have Fawad deported in August.

The Pakistani request said that Fawad was a former policeman with disciplinary issues back home.

However, his wife, Syeda, disputes the claim said her husband was never a police officer.

Fawad is a journalist with many of his articles on the internet and he is in exile in Kuala Lumpur for more than 10 years with a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card, she said.

Sending Fawad, 41, back to Pakistan may lead to his persecution, she warned.