Following the alleged detention of veteran journalist Matiullah Jan in connection with the PTI’s recent rally in Islamabad, a number of journalists and rights activists expressed their worries on Thursday.
On social networking platform X, senior anchor and Dawn writer Arifa Noor stated that she had a conversation with journalist Asad Toor, who claimed that Jan had been charged with a crime against key PTI officials and others for their rally on November 24.
Human rights attorney Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir said in a subsequent tweet that she attended the police station but found the journalist “missing,” despite Noor’s statement that Jan was being held at Islamabad’s Margalla Police Station.
His son Abdul Razzaq reiterated the information in a video message that was uploaded on Jan’s account, claiming that the people who purportedly “picked up” the anchor failed to identify themselves.
Razzaq stated, “[Saqib] Bashir uncle was told ‘this is not your issue’ and he was released.” He emphasized that his father’s commitment to reporting on current events, even at three in the morning, in order to “inform the public,” was the “issue.”
The son claimed, “The real heirs to Pakistan, the unknown people, the unknown vehicles, picked him up on the basis of this issue.” There are people like you everywhere, but they don’t devour their own people. Then why should we have enemies?
The “reports of the abduction” of Jan, which came after “his coverage of protests by defenders of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan,” also caused the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to express great anxiety.
The CJP said in a post on X that “authorities have to guarantee Jan’s safety and immediate release.”
“We demand that the incident be investigated quickly and impartially, and that all of the offenders be held accountable.”
