Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific director Daniel Bastard said it was “extremely disturbing” that no one within the Malaysian government was able to say where Fawad was.

“Let’s not be fooled. If Fawad is still in Malaysia, it means that local authorities are not able to protect a refugee on their own soil, which is a clear sign of incompetence.

“If he has actually been deported, it means that they knowingly breached their international obligations towards the United Nations Human Rights Council,” he said in a statement today.

Fawad, 41, who holds a UNHCR refugee card, had sought asylum in Malaysia for alleged persecution in Pakistan over articles published in several English dailies there related to government corruption.

Yesterday, lawyer P Waytha Moorthy claimed Fawad was nabbed by Malaysian authorities at the behest of the Pakistani government despite having relevant documentation from the UNHCR.

He said this was based on what an immigration officer sympathetic to the plight of Fawad’s spouse, Syeda, had revealed. However, he added that there was no official record of the arrest in the immigration system.

Meanwhile, a source from the foreign ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not cleared to speak to the media, told FMT that Fawad had not been detained or deported.

Bastard said the home ministry must clarify the situation urgently, adding that failure to do so would reflect badly on Malaysia’s press freedom.