- Rana Sanaullah dismisses charges against senior journalist as a ‘concocted and fabricated story’
ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday remanded senior journalist Matiullah Jan in police custody for two days in a terrorism and narcotics case widely derided as being “concocted and fabricated,”
According to his son, Matiullah Jan was abducted by “unknown individuals” Wednesday night, before the authorities confirmed filing a first information report (FIR) against earlier on Thursday.
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 (ATC) 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 lawyer, Hadi Ali Chatta, told the court that the police claimed to have recovered 257 grammes of ice when they arrested him. “Matiullah Jan is a senior journalist and is reporting on the truth,” Chatta said, adding that he was accompanied by senior journalist Saqib Bashir and arrested from Pims.
Chatta said that if it turned out that Jan was taking drugs, then he would “quit the practice of law”.
“He has been arrested for reporting on the D-Chowk case,” Chatta argued. “Our case has not been heard … how long will we tolerate this spectacle?”
Lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir asked what the purpose of the remand was, while lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that nobody has “seen Matiullah Jan smoking a cigarette”, claiming that he was being “punished for speaking the truth, as he has been before”.
Prosecutor Raja Naveed argued that Jan bought and sold narcotics and added that a medical examination had been carried out. “We have to collect evidence from where the drugs were taken,” Naveed added, explaining the purpose of the remand.
“A journalist who is fearless and criticises the government cannot commit any crime,” the judge said, asking, “Do I need to issue remand based on my personal knowledge?”
Bashir was called to the stand and maintained that the ATC was for terrorists, not journalists. “Last night, it was asked whether or not we smoke cigarettes, now they are accusing us of taking ice,” he said.
Judge Sipra said that voices from the back of the courtroom were demanding that he grant remand to which journalist Azaz Syed responded, “Perhaps you are hearing someone else’s voice from the back of the courtroom.”
Speaking outside the ATC after the decision to grant remand, Imaan rejected the court’s decision and said the legal team would challenge it.
“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 added that they would pursue criminal revision against the court order and quashment of the “blatantly false FIR”.
“Equally absurd that two days physical remand has been given. Journalism is not a crime but insulting our collective intelligence like this should be. Enough of this insanity!” she said in a post on X.
Sanaullah dismisses charges against Matiullah Jan as ‘concocted and fabricated story’
Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah dismissed the charges against senior journalist Matiullah Jan as a “concocted and fabricated story” during an interview with a local news channel on Thursday.
Sanaullah, when questioned about the First Information Report (FIR) filed against Jan and his own past narcotics case, drew parallels, stating, “Such stories are often fabricated when needed. They’ve been made against us, and they were made against me as well.”
He further criticised the Islamabad police, stating that the police chief should be held accountable since the force was the complainant in the FIR. “This FIR must be decided on merit,” Sanaullah argued.
“The only thing that should be done on merit is that those who fabricated this false story should be punished, and the person who was wrongfully targeted should be released,” he added.
Sanaullah also defended Jan’s journalistic work, highlighting the role of independent journalists in uncovering the truth. He noted that individuals like Jan were actually contributing positively to the country by investigating and reporting on unverified claims, including rumours of death figures during the PTI protests.
“Such lies cannot stand when independent journalists do their due diligence and report the facts,” he asserted.
