Karachi police on Sunday managed to trace the family of an elderly man reportedly languishing in a prison in Saudi Arabia, days after his plea for help went viral on social media.

In the video, inmate Muhammad Nadeem told the viewers the address of his Pakistan residence. Nadeem also explained that he does not have his National Identity Card (NIC) or passport with him and has been in jail for nearly a month.

"I have lived in Saudi Arabia for the past 35 years and returned to Pakistan thrice in all this time," Nadeem said in the video.

Another man can be seen asking Nadeem questions in the video while a third is heard in the recording. The men say that the elderly man is being held as a prisoner in a jail in the Shahrah Khazan area of Riyadh.

After the video did rounds on social media, Nadeem's family were contacted by the police.

The prisoner's brother Waseem told Dawn that after Nadeem's job ended, he took asylum in a mosque and became a Moazzin there. The brother said he was not sure if Nadeem's travel documents were expired or lost.

The family have since asked relevant authorities to help with the required paperwork to bring Nadeem back to Pakistan.

According to police, contact has been established between Nadeem and his family, and a process has been initiated to arrange for required legal documents.