KABUL
\nJournalist Anas Mallick, who was reported missing in Kabul on Thursday, has revealed that he was \u201cphysically assaulted\u201d during his disappearance.
\nThe Islamabad-based journalist, who is affiliated with Indian news channel WION, surfaced on Friday, with the Foreign Office in Pakistan and Ambassador Mansoor Khan in Kabul both sharing on Twitter that Mallick was \u201csafe\u201d and \u201cback in Kabul\u201d.
\nHours later, WION claimed in a report that Mallick was in fact \u201cabducted by the Taliban\u201d.
\nIn a video report, Anas told WION \u201cI was picked up yesterday by what we know are the Taliban in Kabul\u201d.
\n\u201cTwenty-one hours of ordeal has finally come to an end,\u201d he said, adding that he, as well as a local producer and driver who were with him while they were filming general shots, was picked up on Thursday, a day after he had arrived in Kabul to cover the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover and \u201chow Afghanistan is now\u201d.
\n\u201cWe were intercepted, taken out of the car (dragged out of the car to be precise) our phones were taken away, and then we were assaulted (physically assaulted),\u201d he said. \u201cMy crew was also assaulted and I was assaulted as well.\u201d
\nMallick continued: \u201cAfter some while we were shifted from the place where we were intercepted to what we know was the GDI, or the Grand Directory of Intelligence, the GDI unit the Afghan Taliban.\u201d
\nHe said he and his colleagues were \u201cquestioned thoroughly\u201d on their journalistic credentials and were also asked \u201cpersonal questions\u201d.
\nThe journalist said around 9:30pm (AFT) on Thursday, he was moved to a room and told he would be allowed to walk free in the morning \u201cupon the translator or the tarjuman (representative) showing up\u201d.
\nHe said he was eventually allowed to walk free at 10:10am (AFT) on Friday, \u201cdropped off to be precise\u201d.
\nMallick pointed out that he and his team on the assignment in Kabul were Delhi accredited and had all their press credentials.
\nHowever, \u201cmy press credentials are still not with me. The accreditation and permit letter are still not with me,\u201d he told WION.
\nHe also mentioned that the local producer and driver working with him were still \u201cwithheld by the Taliban\u201d.
\nLater, WION tweeted that both of them had been \u201creleased after 42 hours of detention\u201d. Attached to the tweet were pictures of bare, bruised backs of men.
\nMallick was reported missing on Thursday, with Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Asim Iftikhar expressing concern on the matter.
\n\u201cWe at @foreignofficePK are deeply concerned about the disappearance of @AnasMallick, FO correspondent, from #Kabule yesterday. We are in touch with local authorities and @PakAfg for his early and safe return to Pakistan,\u201d he had said on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KABUL Journalist Anas Mallick, who was reported missing in Kabul on Thursday, has revealed that he was \u201cphysically assaulted\u201d during his disappearance. The Islamabad-based journalist, who is affiliated with Indian news channel WION, surfaced on Friday, with the Foreign Office in Pakistan and Ambassador Mansoor Khan in Kabul both sharing on Twitter that Mallick was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-276019","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n