Saifuddin told reporters that Fawad was deported in August after Islamabad made a request.

Saifuddin said while the Malaysian media had described Fawad as a journalist, Pakistani authorities claimed that he was a former policeman facing disciplinary problems.

Saifuddin said the Pakistani authorities had requested through their high commission in Kuala Lumpur that Fawad be located and informed to return to his home country.

“He (Fawad) was sent back to Islamabad as early as the third week of August,” he said.

Fawad, who was in exile in Malaysia for more than 10 years, had been missing since Aug 23, 2022.

Fawad, 41, who holds a refugee card issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had sought asylum in Malaysia for alleged persecution in Pakistan over articles published in several English dailies there related to alleged government corruption.

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