KARACHI: Bol TV anchor and YouTuber Jameel Farooqui was arrested in Karachi on Monday for “falsely accusing” Islamabad police of physically and sexually assaulting PTI leader Shahbaz Gill. Hours later, while being taken to the capital, Mr Farooqui claimed that he was tortured, stripped and kept at an undisclosed location for over 12 hours.

Meanwhile, a Karachi judge handed custody of Mr Farooqui to Islamabad police after granting a three-day transitory remand to shift him to the capital.

Bol TV Editor-in-Chief Nazir Leghari and a journalist body claimed, however, that Mr Farooqui was allegedly picked up late Sunday night, while on his way home from work after concluding this transmission.

The first information report (FIR) against Mr Farooqui, was registered on Sunday under sections 499 (defamation), 500 (punishment for defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Moved to capital after judge grants transit remand; Farooqui claims he was stripped, tortured; KUJ condemns arrest

His whereabouts were briefly unknown, before various channels reported the news of his arrest on Monday morning.

Later, in a brief statement, a spokesperson for Islamabad police, without naming the accused, said that a man was arrested from Karachi and he was being brought to the capital for further legal proceedings.

However, it is unclear who arrested Mr Farooqui as local police distanced itself from the incident.

Talking to Dawn, Zaman Town police station SHO Zahid Lodhi — in whose jurisdiction the channel’s office was located — denied any role in the arrest.

Mr Farooqui’s channel head, Mr Leghari, told Dawn the anchor had not committed any crime and had only exercised his right of freedom of expression.

“He neither beat anyone, nor took the law into his own hands,” he said, while labelling his arrest a “tyranny” and an “attempt to silence the media”.

In a video posted on Twitter on Monday evening, Mr Farooqui alleged that he was stripped and tortured during the custody.

The video showed the journalist handcuffed and accompanied by an Islamabad police official, at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport.

“On orders of the home ministry […] just because I am speaking the truth […] they tortured me,” Mr Farooqui said while standing beside Bol Media Group President Faysal Aziz Khan. He also claimed that he was blindfolded and kept at an unknown location for 12 hours.

Three-day transitory remand granted

After his arrest, police produced Mr Farooqui before Judicial Magistrate (South) Ali Sher Chandio and requested a transitory remand be granted so he could be moved to Islamabad, where the case was registered.

Investigating Officer Inspector Mian Muhammad Shehbaz informed the magistrate that an FIR against Mr Farooqui had been lodged at Islamabad’s Ramna police station. After hearing the IO’s arguments, the judge asked Mr Farooqui if was subjected to torture during the custody. However, Mr Farooqui didn’t complain of any maltreatment.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) condemned the ‘arrest’ and subsequent ‘disappearance’ of Mr Farooqui.

The union urged the chief justice to take notice of what they claimed was a ‘human rights violation’ and ‘vindictive policy against media persons’.

In a statement, KUJ President Shahid Iqbal and General Secretary Fahim Siddiqi said that while Mr Farooqi’s vlogs were objectionable and contrary to journalistic and moral values, his detention was a violation of basic human rights.

Munawer Azeem from Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2022