December 23, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
For the family of Nisar Ahmed Panhwar, life has been in turmoil over the last few months. After his disappearance for about three months, and his subsequent arrival back home, Panhwar was once again abducted within 12 days of his return – this time along with his son Mohsin.
September abduction
On 16 September 2025, the MQM leader was abducted along with another MQM leader Anwar Khan Tareen. According to information provided by the MQM central leadership at the time, as well as from a petition filed by Panhwar’s son, Mohsin, Nisar Panhwar has been a victim of enforced disappearances on multiple occasions by law enforcement agencies, including the Sindh Rangers and other state actors.
On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at approximately 1:00 PM, Nisar Panhwar, left his residence at house with Anwar Khan Tareen and proceeded towards Gulistan-e-Johar for a scheduled meeting. However, when Mohsin Nisar tried to contact his father later in the day, he discovered that both Nisar Ahmed’s and Anwar Khan Tareen’s cell phones were switched off and were untraceable. Later it was discovered that they were both picked up from Gulzar-e-Hijri, Scheme 33, according to details provided by the family.
There were two court petitions for this case, through which the family requested that Nisar Panhwar be made to appear before the court. But till December there were no appearances, in fact the FIR was lodged two months later only after the court gave directions. This too, the family’s lawyer Jamal Nazir says, was filed by only one complainant – Tareen’s wife.
“We had wanted two separate FIRs to be filed for each of them, but they were not allowing this to happen,” he told Voicepk.
A distressing time for the family
“This is not the first time that my father has been abducted like this,” says Mansoor Panhwar. In fact even Mohsin has been abducted once before. Mansoor says his brother has always been much more politically active than him and has always been by his father’s side, perhaps that is one reason why he was also abducted twice.
“We don’t want to make any statements about it, our only request is that they both be recovered safely and immediately,” he says. “My family – especially my mother – has been so distressed about this. Our father was hardly home for 10 days when he was taken again.”
It is not just that. Mansoor says that Panhwar was returned home in a very bad state. “He was very weak and frail. He had lost weight. He told us that although those who had abducted him had given him medicines for his diabetes, he still suffered the (illegal) detention,” he details. “His hearing has worsened and so has his eyesight.”
The suddenly greying hair and wary expression on Nisar Panhwar’s face says it all.
Multiple abductions
While it is Mohsin who usually deals with the news media and lawyers when it comes to their father, this time it is Mansoor who is filling in the gap. He tells Voicepk that their father was picked up a lot during recent years.
“He has been picked up in 2020, then in 2021 and 2023,” he says. “These were all the abductions where they picked up my father. In 2024 during the general elections, they also picked up my brother as he was there at home with him. Then he was again picked up on 16 September and was released on December 12. My father had told us that his captors were dressed in civil clothes and were armed, and as they had taken him last time, they had also blindfolded him.” On December 22 he was picked up again.
“My father was being followed by a dark maroon Aqua, which also had a tracker, and their last known location was at Malir Halt “They were stopped and their tracker was attempted to be turned off. We were informed by the company that this was happening so we immediately got out to try and trace them. But as soon as we reached the location they had gone from there.”
While he was trying to go after his father, he says that the dark maroon Aqua began following him as well.
Unknown individuals abducted my father, Nisar Panhwar, and my brother, Mohsin,from Malir Halt.The vehicle was tracked on highway then the tracker was removed. My father had been released after 88 days,yet he has been abducted again with my brother.#ReleaseNisarAndMohsinPanhwar pic.twitter.com/NB55v2sLOl
— Mansoor Nisar Panhwar (@mansoor_nisar6) December 22, 2025
“I had to dodge them on the highway and when the car finally lost track of us, and we returned, my father’s car was missing and the tracker was switched off. We even saw them in the camera of the car that they were trying to take the tracker. Meanwhile both their cells were turned off.”
Legal recourse
Advocate Jamal Nazir says is frustrating to get the authorities to hear a complaint when it is never even looked at properly.
“In our last petition, with the abduction of Anwar Tareen and Nisar Panhwar both, we had filed two petitions in the Sindh High Court (SHC) but they never once brought them to court – after two dates the court said file an FIR, and only then was it filed. Petitions are the only thing we can do legally, especially if we do not want this politicized in any way and create discord in the city. It is our right to file this petition as we have Articles 10-A, 9 and 3.
“For us these abductions have been happening since ages,” he says. “Our only demand is to put a stop on these abductions and enforced disappearances, these illegal detentions. If they have done something wrong, bring them to court.”