The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested journalist Farhan Mallick over the content of his YouTube platform\u2019s videos.<\/p>\n
Mallick is the founder of media agency Raftar which describes itself as a \u201cdynamic platform dedicated to driving social change through the power of storytelling\u201d. He is also the former news director of Samaa TV.<\/p>\n
FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Centre Additional Director Shahzad Haider told Dawn.com that an inquiry was initiated against Mallick around three months ago.<\/p>\n
Regarding specific charges, the official replied by saying that Mallick had run \u201cseveral programmes against the security establishment\u201d. Haider added that Mallick was formally arrested today after the completion of an inquiry.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mallick\u2019s wife told Dawn.com that there was no written charge sheet, nor any reason for his arrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have not received a first information report (FIR), nor have we been informed about the charges,\u201d she said over the phone. \u201cWe know that he\u2019s at the FIA Cybercrime office in Gulistan-i-Johar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mallick\u2019s wife said that he went to the FIA \u201cto discuss something\u201d on his own, but was not received by anyone for hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were thinking it was just a meeting, there was no indication he was under investigation,\u201d she maintained. \u201cAfter four or five hours, he was told he was under arrest. I am clueless as to why this is happening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe content we produce is all in the public domain, we do not use any secret information.\u201d<\/p>\n
A post on Mallick\u2019s X account by his daughter said that FIA officials \u201cbarged into\u201d his office last night and gave no reason for their visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey harassed him and his team, gave no reason for their visit, and demanded that he appear at their office today at 1pm for a hearing,\u201d the post read.<\/p>\n
Mallick\u2019s daughter added that her father went to the FIA at 1pm, only to be arrested around 6pm with \u201cno explanation. No justification. Nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what crime my father is being accused of \u2014 because there isn\u2019t one. He is a journalist who believes in truth, in holding power accountable, in giving a voice to the people,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that now a crime? Is free journalism something to be punished?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raftar issued a statement on X saying that the FIA had visited the outlet\u2019s office without notice on Wednesday and verbally summoned Mallick to appear at its office at 1pm today.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn compliance, Mallick appeared at the designated office at the required time. However, after making him wait for hours without cause, the authorities arrested him at 6pm,\u201d the post read, alleging that Raftar\u2019s team was harassed by FIA officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaftar stands for truth, accountability, and the right to report freely without fear,\u201d the outlet added. \u201cThe lack of transparency in this situation raises serious questions about press freedom and the targeting of independent voices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raftar demanded immediate clarity on Mallick\u2019s arrest and called for the protection of media professionals and journalists from \u201cunjust harassment\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded Mallick\u2019s immediate release and a transparent investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government must check the overreach of agencies such as the FIA and uphold the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Karachi Press Club President Fazil Jamil also strongly condemned the arrest, saying it was under the Peca laws. \u201cHis arrest reinforces our apprehension that this draconian law will be used to silence journalists and stifle journalism in the country. He should be released immediately,\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n
Geo News anchor Shahzad Iqbal praised Mallick as a credible journalist and thorough professional who \u201calways kept low profile\u201d and just focused on the news and stories \u201cwithout any ulterior motive\u201d. \u201cAnother shameful act of victimising and suppressing free speech,\u201d Iqbal added in a post on X.<\/p>\n
Today is not the first time Mallick has encountered the FIA. In December, he wrote a post on X about how he was stopped from boarding a flight to Doha and was detained at Karachi Airport for over five hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested journalist Farhan Mallick over the content of his YouTube platform\u2019s videos. Mallick is the founder of media agency Raftar which describes itself as a \u201cdynamic platform dedicated to driving social change through the power of storytelling\u201d. He is also the former news director of Samaa TV. FIA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-court-and-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7138,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7136\/revisions\/7138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}