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28-11-2024
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Senior journalist Matiullah Jan was remanded for two days in police custody on Thursday in a terrorism and narcotics case that was widely derided as being “bogus” on “trumped up charges” amid an outcry for his release.
He was earlier booked in a terrorism and narcotics case today amid concerns raised by rights bodies over his reported arrest from Islamabad last night. Following the claim of Jan’s son that his father was “abducted” from Islamabad last night by “unknown individuals”, it emerged that the journalist was booked in a first information report (FIR) in the early hours of today
Journalist Asad Toor confirmed to Dawn.com that he met with Jan in the morning but the journalist was then taken elsewhere. “He was fine,” Toor said about Jan’s condition.
“When I reached Margalla police station early in the morning, no one was there so I was able to meet him once,” Toor said.
“They took him from the Margalla police station and disappeared him somewhere. His whereabouts are unknown now and we do not know in which court they will produce him,” the journalist added.
Upon insisting that the police show an FIR in which Jan was arrested, Toor said, a policeman showed him an FIR pertaining to the PTI protest, which did not name Jan.
However, it later emerged that the anchor had been booked in a terrorism case, which also included charges of possessing narcotics. The FIR, shared by Toor and also independently verified by Dawn.com, was filed by the Margalla police on the complaint of Superintendent of Police Asif Ali.
Jan was later presented in the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court where Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra presided over a request by the police to grant the journalist’s 30-day physical remand. However, the judge only granted his physical remand for two days.
He vowed to continue his work as he was brought to court by the police.
Concerning his treatment, he said: “This is highly irresponsible. The integrity of institutions is being destroyed. The reason (for the arrest) is as you know that I was (reporting) on the dead bodies.”
Jan’s colleague Saqib Bashir said they were collecting data from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on the casualties after the march when they were taken.
They had both been picked up by men wearing black uniforms, blindfolded and bundled into a car.
A first information report (FIR) was filed against Jan at the Margalla Police Station in Islamabad on Thursday, indicating he was arrested at a checkpoint in the capital.
Calls for Jan’s immediate release
The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed “grave alarm” over Jan’s “abduction” and demanded his immediate release.
“Authorities must ensure Jan’s safety and immediate release,” the organization wrote on social media.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for Jan’s immediate and unconditional release, noting he was arrested while covering the recent protests in Islamabad.
“This authoritarian tactic to silence journalists must cease,” the HRCP said.
PFUJ
Reacting to Matiullah’s arrest, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) demanded immediate release of the senior journalist and warned of countrywide protest if demand not met.
