New York, August 5, 2026—Pakistani authorities must account for and immediately release journalists Razi Tahir and Muhammad Saif, who were taken by men in police uniform from their office in the capital city Islamabad, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday.
Tahir and Saif, independent journalists who publish through Tahir’s popular social media channels, were seized and taken to an undisclosed location on August 1, according to a post on X by Razi’s colleague
Harmeet Singh,
and a local journalist, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Both Singh and the journalist said that the men who seized the pair were wearing police uniforms. However, police in Islamabad have not acknowledged the journalists’ detention and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Before their disappearance, the journalists had
reported
on unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where authorities have suspended internet services and imposed
severe restrictions
on press freedom amid widespread protests by civil society groups, including the banned Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). More than 40 people have been killed during the protests, according to
news
reports
.
“The disappearance of Razi Tahir and Muhammad Saif appears to be part of an escalating effort to silence independent reporting on Kashmir amid severe press freedom violations in the region,” said CPJ Afghanistan-Pakistan Representative Waliullah Rahmani. “Pakistani authorities must immediately disclose the journalists’ whereabouts, ensure their due-process rights, and release them unconditionally.”
Tahir, who has approximately
37,000 followers on X
, is the chief executive officer of the marketing and advertising agency, Sapium Digital, but reports on current affairs in Pakistan through his YouTube channel,
The Independent Lens
.
Saif is a Kashmiri journalist who works with Tahir, according to two journalists who spoke to CPJ on the condition of
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