A distraught father has appealed to UAE residents for help in finding his missing son.
Sheikh Zakir Hussain said Saleem Hussain, 26, vanished from his apartment in Abu Dhabi on July 21.
The computer programmer has not been in contact with friends or family since and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are still unknown.
His father, who lives in India, travelled to the UAE earlier this week to seek help from the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi to locate his son. He has since returned home after filing a missing persons report.
“My family and I just want to know where he is,” said Mr Hussain. “We spoke to him on the phone on Saturday, July 20 at about 10pm.
“He sounded fine. He just started a new job one week before. The next day his roommate told us he was missing.
“I am worried, it has been weeks and we know nothing. I flew from India to Abu Dhabi because I want to try and find out what happened.”
Highlighting Saleem’s case on Twitter days after his disappearance, several people tagged Navdeep Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, in their posts.
"I met with Mr Hussain in person and I am aware of the case," Mr Suri told The National on Thursday.
“A representative from the embassy accompanied Mr Hussain to Khalidiya Police station in Abu Dhabi this week. The father filed a missing persons case.
“As yet, we haven't received any more information on the issue."
According to documents shared with The National, Saleem's residency permit was issued by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship on July 8.
Shortly after, he began employment with an Abu Dhabi-based computer software company.
“As a family we are in a lot of distress,” said Mr Hussain. “I just want to know where my son is. I want to know if he is safe.”
Abu Dhabi Police were contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
