Aaj News senior staff member Nafees Naeem, who went missing on Monday after he was "picked up" by men in plainclothes, returned home safely within 24 hours of being abducted.

The channel's director news, Kamal Siddiqi, shared the development on Twitter.

"Aaj senior assignment editor Nafees Naim has safely returned home. Thank you to all colleagues, well-wishers and media organisations who helped make this happen," Siddiqi tweeted.

Naeem, who has spent over a decade at Aaj News and currently works as an assignment editor in Karachi, was picked up while buying groceries near his residence in the Nazimabad area of Karachi.

Aaj News staff member Nafees Naeem ‘picked up’ by men in plainclothes

Witnesses informed Naeem’s family that he was forcibly put into the back of a white-coloured Vigo (a four-wheel-drive truck) by men in plainclothes.

CCTV footage shows a vehicle stopping as Naeem was passing by. Two men in plainclothes step out of the vehicle while another rushes in and bundles Naeem into the backseat of the vehicle.