Pakistani official who went missing last week returns home

ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani government official who went missing from the capital last week safely returned home Tuesday after unknown abductors freed him on the outskirts of Islamabad, officials and the man said.

Sajid Gondal, who is a senior official at the country’s financial regulatory body, took to Twitter to announce his return, but he did not share any details.

He went missing while driving home from work and his car was later found parked on a roadside.

It was unclear who held him for five days, though his family and friends speculated he was in the custody of one of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, which work largely outside the control of the government.

He was freed after his relatives rallied in Islamabad amid growing pressure on social media for Gondal’s release. A Pakistani court this week had ordered the government to trace and produce him by Sept. 17.