Pak journalist escapes kidnap attempt

ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (AFP): A Pakistani journalist known for criticising the powerful military said he had escaped an abduction attempt after being assaulted by armed men in Islamabad Wednesday, in the latest case involving forced disappearances in the turbulent country.
Taha Siddiqui, who won France's highest journalism award the Albert Londres prize in 2014, said he was attacked by up to a dozen men en route to the airport in Rawalpindi but managed to escape before being kidnapped, suffering minor injuries during the scuffle.
"Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances," wrote Siddiqui in a tweet posted on a fellow journalist's account.
Siddiqui, the Pakistani bureau chief of Indian television channel WION and who has reported for France 24, had previously complained of being harassed by authorities for publishing bold critiques of the country's security establishment.
Human rights and media groups voiced concern over the incident, saying the use of violence against journalists was troubling.
The attack comes months after prominent reporter Ahmed Noorani was also savagely beaten and stabbed in the head after being dragged out of his car in Islamabad by armed assailants.
Pakistan has a long history of enforced disappearances, particularly in conflict zones near the border with Afghanistan.
More than 1,500 people are still missing in disappearance cases, according to data compiled by Pakistan's commission of inquiry on enforced disappearances published this month.