Islamabad: Senior Pakistani journalist and YouTuber Matiullah Jan was arrested after an altercation at a security checkpoint in the capital, police said on Thursday.
However, Jan's son alleged that his father was "abducted" by unknown people along with his cameraman Saqib Bashir late Wednesday night from the parking lot of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences where he went to report on the people injured during the clashes between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers and police.
According to an FIR, Jan, initially not known to the police, was arrested after he tried to run his car over the police at a security checkpoint in Sector E-9 and injured a constable in the incident.
The FIR said when the police forcibly stopped the vehicle by throwing a barrier in front of it, the driver after getting down snatched the police weapon and assaulted the officials present.
It further said the police then arrested the accused and found out he was a man named Matiullah Jan.
Upon searching his car, the police claimed it recovered 246 grams of a drug called "ice".
“The unknown individuals, unknown vehicles — the real heirs to Pakistan — picked him up based on this issue,” Jan’s son Abdul Razzaq alleged in a video posted on his father’s X account.
However, Bahsir was later released and informed the family of Jan about the incident.
He demanded the immediate release of his father.
Razzaq alleged his father was arrested for his devotion to reporting on the ongoing political developments in Pakistan even at 3 am to keep the public "informed".
Anchorperson Munizae Jahangir said Jan was “reporting from hospitals on those injured and killed from bullet wounds at the PTI protest and [it] seems that’s why he has been arrested for his journalistic work”.
Another post on Jan’s X account, apparently posted by his son, read: “Matiullah Jan has been abducted from the parking of Pims tonight (Wednesday night) around 11 pm by unmarked abductors in an unmarked vehicle.” “This follows [Jan’s] courageous coverage of the protests in Islamabad,” the post said.
Senior anchor and Dawn columnist Arifa Noor said on X that Jan was detained at Islamabad’s Margalla Police Station.
Human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir, however, said she visited the police station but the journalist was not there.
“After pleading with police at Margalla Police Station to allow us access to our client Matiullah Jan, we were finally allowed in,” Imaan said on X.
The lawyer said she checked the lock-up herself and the “people locked up inside confirmed to me that right before we came, the police took Matiullah Jan. He is missing”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also expressed alarm over “reports of the abduction” of Jan, noting it followed his coverage of protests by imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan's supporters.
“Authorities must ensure Jan’s safety and immediate release,” the CPJ asserted in a post on X.
“We call for a swift and impartial investigation into the incident and accountability for all perpetrators,” it said.
Jan is known for his aggressive reporting on political issues and went missing in 2020 when Khan, 72, was the prime minister but was later released unharmed.
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