Representative image of arrest.
Credit: iStock Photo
A Pakistani court on Friday remanded a journalist, who was arrested for allegedly spreading a 'provocative narrative' against state institutions, into the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency for two days. Khalid Jamil of ABN News channel was arrested by the FIA in Islamabad on Thursday, according to the channel.
He appeared before the Islamabad district and sessions court, which remanded him in two-day FIA custody to investigate the charges.
The first information report registered by the FIA stated that Jamil was “found sharing and propagating highly intimidating content/tweets on social media/Twitter” (now X).
“The accused had knowingly misinterpreted and disseminated anti-state narrative by sharing false misleading and baseless information which are also likely to cause fear in the public and may incite anyone to commit an offence against the state or the state institution or public tranquility,” it said.
The FIA said such intimidating content of blaming and naming through social media accounts, is a mischievous act of subversion to create a rift between general public and state institutions to “harm the state of Pakistan”.
Through such intimidating content, including videos, Jamil “attempted to provoke the general public against the state institutions including judiciary, by trying to create a feeling of ill-will among pillars of the state,” the probe agency said.
The media community condemned Jamil's arrest and called for a clear explanation for the action taken.
Journalist and columnist Nusrat Javed questioned the basis for Jamil’s arrest, suggesting that the government needed a thoroughly credible narrative to justify the detention.
Interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said the arrest and search warrants were issued for the journalist by a court, which he stated was “mandatory as per the law”.
“If law enforcement agencies...do any injustice, then the matter should go to court. We would not want to interfere in court procedures. If there has been any injustice with him (Jamil) and it comes to my knowledge, then we will address it while remaining within the law,” Solangi said at a press conference.
Pakistan has long been an unsafe country for journalists. In recent years, Pakistani activists and journalists have increasingly come under attack by the government and the security establishment.
Journalist Arshad Sharif, who was critical of the Army, was killed in Kenya last October as he fled the country citing threats to his life from the security agencies. Another TV anchor, Imran Riaz Khan, who was critical of the establishment after the ouster of the Imran Khan government last year, has been missing since May.