A Halton journalist who escaped threats and violence in his native Pakistan says his life and those of his family have been threatened because of a column he wrote criticizing Pakistani-Canadians who ran in Ontario municipal elections.

Mohsin Abbas, who spent a year at The Spectator under a program to give foreign-trained journalists Canadian experience, alleges he and his family were threatened after an opinion piece called "How Pakistani candidates embarrass us in Canadian polls" was published Nov. 5 by Dawn, a Pakistani news organization.

The alleged threats are under investigation by Halton police, confirmed Sergeant Chantal Corner. No charges have been laid.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, which helped bring Abbas to Canada in 2002, is tracking the case and offering him support.

Abbas claims a man who identified himself as Riazuddin Choudhry, one of the candidates named in the article, called him last Friday.

The call originated from a phone number associated with the Choudhry campaign.

Abbas alleges he was told "he will hunt me down" if the article isn't retracted. He claims the caller said "his family is capable of killing."

When The Spectator called the cellphone, a man who said he was Choudhry answered and then hung up. Subsequent calls went to voicemail. Emails were not returned.

Choudhry, 70, is a retired businessman and was a mayoral candidate in Mississauga. In an interview with the Mississauga News, he said he has five children, six grandchildren and moved to Canada from Pakistan in 1992.

He also used the surname Gondal in some election literature and a Facebook page.

Abbas believes it is not his criticism of Choudhry's poor political performance — he garnered less than 1 per cent of votes in the Oct. 27 election — that caused problems. Rather, it's the claim in the article that Choudhry also goes by the name Malik Riaz, Abbas says.

The name signifies a lower class in Pakistan, Abbas explained, adding Choudhry is synonymous with the upper class, who are typically landowners in Sialkot, Pakistan — where both men are from.

Abbas has a recording of a portion of the telephone conversation, in Urdu, which was independently translated by The Spectator.

At one point, the man says his family in Pakistan are "killers" and often force people to vote for their politicians. He talks about being famous, and being insulted for being called Malik when he's a Choudhry.

The man says Abbas should not have written the article without talking to him, and later says Abbas has created an enemy for life.

On Monday, Abbas said he also got a call from his family in Pakistan, relaying a terrifying encounter the day before. He claims a man with a handgun showed up at his brother's shop in Sialkot and allegedly said two of the brother's children would be kidnapped if the article wasn't retracted. He also claimed Abbas owed Choudhry $5,000.

The armed man allegedly referred to Choudhry as his uncle, Abbas said.

The threats have left Abbas and his family in fear. He is "keeping mobility low" and his brother has pulled his kids from school and moved them out of town.

"It's extremely disturbing," said Tom Henheffer, executive director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, adding while most Canadians would find the news surprising, it's actually "shockingly normal."

Many journalists who flee countries because of threats will continue working as journalists in Canada, often covering their own communities. This means the threats often follow them to Canada, Henheffer said.

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He noted that Pakistan is listed as the deadliest country for journalists.

While threats against journalists in Canada are common, Henheffer said actual attacks are rare.

However, they do happen. In 1998 journalist Tara Singh Hayer was gunned down at his Surrey, B.C. home, after writing critically about violent Sikh extremists.