A special court in Islamabad has granted bail to journalist Khalid Jamil, who was arrested last week on charges of spreading a “provocative narrative” against state institutions through social media posts.
Special Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand approved the journalist’s bail plea against surety bonds worth Rs50,000, leading to his release from Adiala Jail after the court issued the bail orders.
During the hearing, Jamil’s lawyer, Naveed Malik, strongly contested the allegations, stating that they were baseless.
He highlighted Jamil’s prominent position as the Bureau Chief at a highly respected news organization and invoked Article 19 of the Constitution, which unequivocally upholds the right to freedom of expression.
Malik pointed out that the journalist had been detained under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), a section that had been declared unconstitutional by the Islamabad High Court.
Consequently, any actions taken under it were considered null and void, he argued.
Malik also noted that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had filed the FIR in defiance of court orders and raised concerns about privacy infringements during the arrest.
In response, the prosecutor argued that a specific narrative appeared to be forming based on Jamil’s tweets, potentially compromising “national identity.”
The initial information report filed by the FIA against the journalist accused him of sharing and propagating highly intimidating content on social media, which was seen as misinterpreting and disseminating an anti-state narrative.
The agency claimed that Jamil, along with others, had promoted anti-state, provocative, and hatred narratives against state institutions, attempting to provoke the general public against the judiciary and pillars of the state.
Earlier this week, Jamil’s lawyer filed a post-arrest bail plea, and in a previous hearing, the court had requested the FIA to submit records related to the journalist’s tweets.
