ISLAMABAD: ReportersWithout Borders (RSF) has demanded the immediate release of journalist Ahmad Noorani`s brothers, who were allegedly forcibly disappeared in retaliation for his reporting.

Mr Noorani, currently based in the United States and working for the news outlet FactFocus, recently published an investigative report on a serving high-ranking military officialand his relatives.

According to an RSF statement, around 20 armed men abducted the two brothers of Mr Noorani in Islamabad on March 19, shortly after the publication of his investigative report. It quoted the journalist as saying that `they confiscated all the phones and deleted videos taken by the family, then forcibly took the two brothers, both engineers, to an unknown location.Their relatives have had no news of them since`.

According to RSF, the local police have denied being behind the abduction. The request for comment sent by RSF to the minister of information remained unanswered, it added.

`Reporters Without Borders is outraged by this abduction, which is very likely an act of retaliation.

The forced disappearance of Ahmad Noorani`s brothers, which appears to be a clear reprisal to intimidate and silence the journalist, is intolerable.

`Unfortunately, it`s just the latest example of a broader pattern of repression against critical voices in Pakistan. RSF calls on the authorities to shed light on the fate and whereabouts of the journalist`s two brothers, ensure their immediate release and bring those responsible for this outrageous act to justice, the statement said.