At first, the Taliban criticized several Western news outlets, including Reuters and the B.B.C., for their coverage of her case, forcing some correspondents to temporarily leave Pakistan. There has also been speculation that the security forces, which have effectively run the Swat region since 2009, have also been unhappy about the attention.

Sana ul Haq, a freelance journalist in Swat, said he was abducted, interrogated and beaten for 11 hours on Oct. 14 by men he believed were intelligence officials. He said the men had made clear that his offense had been helping two New York Times reporters gauge local reaction to the news of Ms. Yousafzai’s Nobel Prize nomination just days before.

Mr. Haq said the men grabbed him as he was walking home around 7 p.m., then blindfolded and drove him away in an unmarked Jeep. He was taken to a location about 30 minutes away where he was questioned for about 10 hours by three men, two of whom were masked.

The men questioned him about his work and accused him of being a traitor to Pakistan and an American spy. Mr. Haq insisted he was working only as a journalist, but the men accused him of lying, periodically beating him with their fists and a leather whip, leaving extensive bruising on his torso, head and legs. They also kicked him between the legs.

Mr. Haq’s abductors released him at dawn the following morning, dropping him on the roadside in Mingora, and warning him to tell no one of his experience.

His abductors showed detailed knowledge of New York Times reporting activities in Pakistan, and repeatedly asked about and referred to Declan Walsh, the newspaper’s bureau chief for Pakistan, who was expelled from the country in May with no explanation and has remained blocked from returning.

The ordeal left Mr. Haq with extensive bruising and some back injuries, and he said he felt newly vulnerable. Last week he received two anonymous phone calls, warning him to stop his freelance work for The Times.