According to lawyer P Waytha Moorthy’s office, Fawad’s wife, Syeda, needs the visa extension to determine her husband’s whereabouts and what action she could take in Malaysia, if needed.
In a statement, it said they had written to Khairul on Jan 6 and given the immigration department until Jan 14 to confirm the decision.
If the department fails to extend her visa, the legal team will consider taking legal action against the director-general for “failing to exercise his duties in furtherance to a foreigner’s right to seek leave to remain in Malaysia to pursue a legal cause”, it said.
It said Waytha has also contacted Pakistan’s human rights commission and bar council for assistance.
The office said Islamabad and the Pakistani high commission here have been silent on Fawad’s whereabouts since home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed that the journalist had been deported.
“However, Fawad has not been produced in any courts in Pakistan, which is a matter of grave concern,” it said, adding that there were two versions on his whereabouts based on Syeda’s communications with the Pakistani high commissioner.
“In light of these, our legal team would communicate with the necessary departments in Malaysia as well as seek assistance from the legal fraternity and human rights commission in Pakistan.
“What is pertinent now is Fawad’s safety,” it said.
Last week, Saifuddin told a press conference that Fawad had been deported in August after the Pakistani government made a request.
Saifuddin said while the Malaysian media had described Fawad as a journalist, Pakistani authorities claimed he was a former policeman facing disciplinary problems.
Fawad, 41, who had been in exile in Malaysia for more than 10 years, had been missing since Aug 23 last year.
The holder of a refugee card issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he had sought asylum in Malaysia for alleged persecution in Pakistan over articles published in several English dailies there related to alleged government corruption.