Islamabad: Senior journalist Matiullah Jan was on Thursday remanded for two days in police custody in a terrorism and narcotics case which have been termed “bogus” on “trumped up charges” as demands have been raised for his release, Dawn reported.This incident once again demonstrates the alarming state of press freedom in Pakistan, which ranks at 150th spot out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.The decision to keep him in police custody comes after he was reportedly detained in Islamabad on Wednesday night. Jan’s son said “unknown individuals” had abducted his father, before authorities said that they have a first information report (FIR), according to Dawn report.Speaking to Dawn, Journalist Asad Toor said that he met with Jan in the morning. However, the journalist was taken elsewhere. Speaking about details regarding Jan’s condition, Toor said, “he was fine.”He said, “When I reached Margalla police station early in the morning, no one was there so I was able to meet him once.” He further 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.After demanding that police show him an FIR in which Jan was arrested, Toor said a police personnel showed him an FIR related to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protest. According to Toor, the journalist’s name was not mentioned in the FIR.Later, it emerged that the journalist has been booked in a terrorism case, which also included charges of possessing narcotics. The FIR against senior journalist was filed by the Margalla police on the complaint of Superintendent of Police Asif Ali.Matiullah Jan was presented in the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) where Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra granted physical remand of journalist for two-days despite police’s request to grant his 30-day physical remand.Speaking about his detention, Jan 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,” according to Dawn report.In the court, Jan’s lawyer, Hadi Ali Chatta, said that the police claimed to have recovered 257 grams of ice when they arrested him. Chatta called Jan a senior journalist who iws reporting on the truth, He added that Jan was accompanied by senior journalist Saqib Bashir and arrested from Pims.Jan’s lawyer said, “He has been arrested for reporting on the D-Chowk case.” He further said, “Our case has not been heard … how long will we tolerate this spectacle?”Lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir asked the purpose of keeping him in police custody. Lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that nobody has “seen Matiullah Jan smoking a cigarette.” He further said that journalist was being “punished for speaking the truth, as he has been before”.Speaking outside the Anti-terrorism court after the decision of the judge, Imaan Mazari rejected the court’s decision and announced that the legal team would challenge it.She said, “You have made a joke of this country’s law and made it a further joke by giving a two-day remand, We do not accept it and we will challenge this decision.” She stated that they would demand criminal revision against the court order and quashment of the “blatantly false FIR”.Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for relase of Matiullah Jan. In a statement, CPJ said, “Pakistan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release senior journalist Matiullah Jan and stop harassing him for his journalistic work.”Expressing displeasure over his arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, Beh Lih Yi said, “CPJ is dismayed by the arrest of Pakistani journalist Matiullah Jan following his coverage of protests in Islamabad. The Pakistani authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Jan and ensure that journalists are not subjected to retaliation for their reporting.”Similarly, Human rights organisation Amnesty International took to X to demand release of Jan and called charges against him “politically motivated.” Amnesty International called Jan’s “arbitrary detention” on “trumped up charges” “an affront on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom”.The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has urged Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to intervene in the matter and secure immediate release of Jan. In a statement, PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari condemned his arrest.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded Jan’s “immediate and unconditional release.”Digital rights activist Usama Khilji in a post on X condemned Jan’s arrest. He claimed that Jan had been “forcibly disappeared for investigating the truth behind the killing of civilians in Islamabad at the PTI protest”.Imran Khan-founded party, whose protest Jan was reportedly covering, said Jan’s disappearance sparked “serious concerns about press freedom and the safety of journalists”, terming suppression of information”, according to Dawn report.This incident showcases situation of journalists in Pakistan as they face numerous threats, including harassment, abductions, and even assassinations, especially when reporting on sensitive issues like human rights abuses in Balochistan, enforced disappearances, or military operations,The Balochistan Post reported.Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, especially the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have been time and again been accused of targeting journalists who report against state policies or cover controversial subjects, The Balochistan Post reported. Journalists face threats or censorship if they carry out investigative reporting on government corruption, the military’s role in politics, or insurgency issues.
