Journalist Matiullah Jan granted two-day physical remand

ISLAMABAD: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Islamabad has granted a two-day physical remand to senior journalist Matiullah Jan, who was abducted, as per his family, last night from PIMS Hospital in Islamabad.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas presided over the hearing, during which the precaution demanded a 30-day physical remand of the journalist.

His lawyer Hadi Ali said that the case filed against Matiullah Jan is very ridiculous. The defense lawyer requested the release of his client from the case.

Jan was taken into custody over a terrorism case, which also included charges of possessing narcotics. The FIR was filed by the Margalla police on the complaint of Superintendent of Police Asif Ali.

The FIR mentioned that Matiullah in his white Toyota Yaris injured the police constable Mudassir intentionally after he was signaled to stop at the checkpost on Margalla Road in the E-9 sector.

It claimed that Jan was intoxicated at the time, whereas, police recovered 246 grams of narcotic methamphetamine (crystal meth) from his vehicle. The case was registered at 3:20 am, nearly an hour after his alleged abduction took place.

Earlier, his family reported that Matiullah Jan, critical of the government’s handling of PTI protests, was apprehended along with fellow journalist Saqib Bashir at 11 pm on Wednesday. While Bashir was eventually released, Jan’s whereabouts remained unclear, his family said in a statement on social media.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) demanded the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Matiullah “who has reportedly been arrested following his coverage of the recent protests in Islamabad.”

This authoritarian tactic to silence journalists must cease,” the human rights watchdog statement read.