Lahore, February 3: Senior Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz Khan was arrested on Thursday by the authorities for a second time for making statements defaming the country’s state institutions especially the Army.
Khan, a News Anchor with BOL, was leaving for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reportedly to escape action against him by the Pakistani Muslim-league Nawaz-led government, when the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) detained him at the Lahore airport and shifted him to its provincial headquarters for interrogation.
“Journalist Imran Riaz Khan has been booked under different sections of the Provisions of the Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and the Pakistani Penal Code for hate speech, defaming state institutions, especially the Army, violence-inducing statements, creating rift between the general public and the state institutions, incitement to mutiny and public mischief,” the statement from the authorities stated.
The latest provocation for Khan to be arrested is that he targeted the military leadership on its pledge to remain neutral and made a video that went viral on social media. “Khan was also critical of the Pakistani Army for its role in politics. This is not the first time the journalist has been arrested,” FIA authorities stated.
Khan had been earlier arrested for similar charges and had obtained bail from Lahore High Court. The journalist in question has been highly critical of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the former Chief of the Army and those in the incumbent Army who support the federal coalition government.
It may be noted that the journalist Imran Riaz Khan is closely identified with former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. “This is exactly the reason why the journalist has been arrested,” former Pakistan Prime Minister tweeted.
Imran Khan further said, “We can safely and surely say that human rights and press freedom are completely non-existant in Pakistan, rule of law is conspicuous by its absence”
Meanwhile, various media institutions have decided to take up the issue with the government in order to ensure a “fair trial and treatment” to their colleague Imran Riza Khan.
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