Missing clerics may have been picked up by Pakistan intel

There are fears that two senior clerics from Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah, who have been reported missing in Pakistan, may have been taken into custody by intelligence agencies or kidnapped by a militant group.

The clerics - Asif Nizami, 82, and Nazim Ali Nizami, 66 – are members of the extended family of the Sajjada Nashin (hereditary administrator) of the shrine in Delhi. They were reported missing on Thursday after their families were unable to contact them in Pakistan, where they had gone for a pilgrimage.

There was official silence on the issue but Pakistani law enforcement officials said the two men may either have been taken into custody by intelligence agencies or kidnapped by a militant group. No further details were immediately available. The clerics reportedly visited the dargah of Khwaja Fariduddin Masud Ganjshakar, popularly known as Baba Farid, at Pakpattan, some 160 km from Lahore, on March 13. The next day, the visited the Data Darbar dargah in Lahore.

Sources said when the clerics went to Lahore airport to take a Nazim Ali Nizami was detained while Asif Nizami was allowed to board the aircraft. Though Asif Nizami reached Karachi, his relatives were unable to trace him at the airport, the sources added.

“There is a possibility that they were detained by intelligence agencies,” a source said.

The clerics also shared photos with their relatives on Whatsapp that apparently showed them at the Data Darbar shrine.

In a series of tweets, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the matter had been taken up with the Pakistan government, which had been asked to give an update on the whereabouts of the clerics. However, Swaraj said clerics went missing after arriving in Karachi.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told the media that an Indian request for assistance for recovering the clerics had been received. He said this request had been forwarded to the interior ministry, which is “actively pursuing the matter”.

Asif Nizami’s family said the clerics left for Pakistan on March 6 and had their return flight scheduled on Thursday, which they failed to make. Amir, son of Asif , said his father was visiting Pakistan after 35 years and had last spoken to the family