Pakistani journalist Murad seized from home in the night
New York, March 27 (CPJ/OurVoice) — Pakistani authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Waheed Murad, who was taken away by masked men who broke into his home in the capital Islamabad before dawn on Wednesday, and stop using such brutal tactics to intimidate the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
In a news alert, CPJ added, Murad, who works as a reporter for Urdu News and runs the independent news site Pakistani24, later appeared before the Judicial Magistrate Islamabad (West) court, where he was placed in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for two days under Pakistan’s cybercrime laws for allegedly posting “intimidating content” online, according to a copy of the court order, reviewed by CPJ.
“The shocking overnight raid on the home of seasoned journalist Waheed Murad is part of a disturbing trend of enforced disappearances and detentions of journalists by Pakistan’s security agencies,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must allow Murad to resume reporting without fear of detention, threats, or intimidation.”
Murad’s mother-in-law, Abida Nawaz, said that the unidentified men who abducted the journalist did not say where they were taking him. Before Murad appeared in court, she had filed a petition with the Islamabad High Court seeking his recovery. The petition states that the journalist had raised his voice about the disappearance of exiled journalist Ahmed Noorani’s two brothers in Islamabad.
Noorani’s brothers have been missing since March 18, when individuals identifying themselves as police forcibly entered their family home. In addition, journalist Asif Karim Khehtran disappeared from his home district of Barkhan on March 13, and Farhan Mallick, founder of the independent online media platform Raftar, continues to be held in FIA detention after being detained on March 20 in Karachi.
CPJ’s text messages requesting comment from Information Minister Attaullah Tarar received no response.
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