Journalist Syed Fawad sent back to Pakistan - Saifuddin

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Malaysia received a diplomatic request from Pakistan's government last August to track and repatriate Syed Fawad.

"Acting on the request, the government at that time tracked Syed Fawad down and he was sent back to Islamabad as early as the third week of August last year. That's his status based on our existing records.

"And I can confirm that based on official records and the action taken was in line with the Pakistan's government's request," he said during a media conference after conducting an official visit to the Malaysian Prisons Department headquarters here today.

He also revealed that based on information received from Pakistan authorities, Syed Fawad who was reported by media outlets to be a journalist was also a former Pakistani police officer with disciplinary problems.

"Even though he was a former police officer with disciplinary issues, his good writing ability, especially in chastising and criticising the Pakistan government, led media outlets to report him as a journalist. But according to official records, he is a former police officer," he said.

On Dec 30, Syed Fawad's wife, who wishes to be known only as Syeda, held a media conference in Sentral Vista Tower in Brickfields here and urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene and locate her husband, who she alleged had gone missing after fleeing his country to Malaysia in 2009.

Syeda had also claimed on Aug 23 last year that her husband could not be contacted and lodged a police report shortly after at the Pantai police station in Brickfields over his disappearance.