A district and sessions court in Islamabad has ordered journalist Muhammad Khalid Jamil to be remanded in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for two days following his arrest on Thursday night.
Jamil, associated with ABN News, was detained by the FIA on charges of disseminating a “provocative narrative” against state institutions through his social media posts.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the journalist was arrested under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) for “sharing and propagating highly intimidating content/tweets on social media/Twitter against the state”.
Additionally, the FIR invokes Section 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with statements conducive to public mischief.
According to the FIR, Jamil knowingly disseminated an anti-state narrative through false, misleading, and baseless information, causing fear and potentially inciting offenses against the state or its institutions.
The FIR further alleges that Jamil, along with unnamed accomplices, propagated, promoted, and glorified anti-state, provocative, and hateful narratives against state institutions.
The FIA contends that such intimidating content, when spread through social media, aims to create a rift between the general public and state institutions, potentially harming Pakistan. It accuses Jamil of attempting to provoke public sentiment against state institutions, including the judiciary.
Information Minister Murtaza Solangi also confirmed the journalist’s arrest under the relevant sections of PECA and PPC.
He was addressing a news conference along with Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori in Karachi.
The arrest of Khalid Jamil has prompted strong condemnation from the journalist community, with calls for a clear explanation of the action taken.
Journalist and columnist Nusrat Javed questioned the basis for Jamil’s arrest, emphasizing the need for a credible narrative to justify his detention.
