ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday suspended the two-day physical remand of senior journalist Matiullah Jan in a terrorism and narcotics case widely derided as being “bogus and fabricated.”
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the petition filed by Jan’s counsels, challenging the judicial remand granted by the Anti-Terrorism Court Rawalapindi.
The IHC bench issue the order after hearing arguments, directing the authorities to consider the senior journalist in judicial custody.
During hearing, Advocates Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha appeared on behalf of Matiullah Jan.
On Thursday, Jan’s son Abdul Razzaq alleged his father was abducted from the parking lot of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) the night before by unknown individuals.
However, it later emerged that the anchor had been booked in a terrorism case, which also included charges of possessing narcotics. The FIR was registered by the Margalla police on the complaint of Superintendent of Police Asif Ali.
The FIR claimed that Jan was found possessing 246 grams of narcotic methamphetamine (crystal meth) when his vehicle was stopped at E-9 in the federal capital.
The case was registered at 3:20am on Thursday, nearly an hour after the alleged incident took place.
Later in the day, Jan was presented in the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) where Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra granted the police Jan’s two-day physical remand, denying their request for a 30-day custody.
In a post on X, Imaan had said she has requested for the petition to be fixed for hearing today considering the “urgency of the matter”.
Imaan said a bail petition for Jan would also be filed today. IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) President Riasat Ali Azad was present during the hearing as well.
At the outset of the hearing, the ATC’s order was read out on the court’s directives.
“Matiullah Jan was arrested in a false and fabricated case,” Imaan contended before the court.
“We request that the hearing on the petition against his physical remand be held today. If it is held tomorrow or on Monday it will be useless.”
Meanwhile, IHCBA’s President Riasat Ali Azad told the court that an affidavit by Saqib Bashir, another journalist briefly detained yesterday, was available.
“This case is a baseless story based on lies,” Azad said. The court removed the objections to the petition.
During the hearing, the IHCBA president pointed out that the FIR against the journalist “had no mention of buying or selling [narcotics]”.
Subsequently, the judges ordered the suspension of Jan’s physical remand and that he be sent on judicial remand.
Amid reports of Jan’s arrest a day ago, rights bodies and the journalism fraternity voiced their concerns and demanded his release.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International said Jan’s “arbitrary detention” on “trumped up charges” was “an affront on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed grave alarm over “reports of the abduction” of Jan, noting it followed “his coverage of protests by supporters of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan”.
