Committee to Protect Journalists, HRCP demand immediate release of journalist
Islamabad Police on Wednesday night arrested senior journalist Matiullah Jan, prompting the journalist community and rights activists to demand his immediate release.
According to a FIR registered against Jan, he has been accused of “ramming” into a police picket and injuring a policeman. He has also been accused of pointing a gun at a policeman and threatening him while under the influence. Additional charges include possession of illegal drugs.
Describing the charges as “baseless,” senior journalist Azaz Syed said it was a “shameful” draft of the case. Other journalists have voiced similar derision of the charges brought up against Jan.
Former parliamentarian Mohsin Dawar, in a post on X, described the arrest as “shameful and condemnable.” He demanded an end to attacks on freedom of expression and fundamental freedoms and also demanded Jan’s immediate release.
Human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, representing Jan, said she had visited the Margalla Police Station where the journalist was reportedly detained but had not found him. Jan’s journalist friends said they were informed he would be produced before an Anti-Terrorism Court.
In a post on Jan’s X account, his son said the journalist was “abducted” from the parking lot of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in an unmarked vehicle. He claimed the arrest was linked to Jan’s coverage of the PTI’s protest in Islamabad earlier this week and demanded the immediate release of his father.
Responding to the arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded authorities ensure Jan’s safety and immediate release. “We call for a swift and impartial investigation into the incident and accountability for all perpetrators,” it said in a statement, while noting the “complete impunity” for Jan’s previous abduction in 2020.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also demanded Jan’s “immediate and unconditional release.” It cited social media posts that he has “reportedly been arrested following his coverage of the recent protests in Islamabad.”