ISLAMABAD: Several veteran journalists and human rights activists have expressed their serious concern over the registration of “a fabricated and concocted case” of drug-trafficking registered against journalist Matiullah Jan last year and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

“The charges against Matiullah Jan are fake and fabricated, and it is imperative that they be withdrawn or quashed immediately,” said a statement jointly issued by a group of senior journalists and rights activists here on Saturday.

The statement came a day after an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) handed over all case documents to Mr Jan, amid reports that his trial is likely to begin by October 31.

In their statement, the journalists and right activists stated that Matiullah Jan’s abduction by unidentified persons in November last year from the car parking area of a hospital in Islamabad, and his subsequent detention were clear examples of “arm-twisting tactics employed by the authorities to silence him and impede his investigations.”

The statement has been signed by veteran journalists and right activists, including Zahid Hussain, Farhatullah Babar, Mustansar Javaid, Anwar Iqbal, Ali Ahmad Khan, Mazhar Abbas, Amir Wasim, Dr Nazir Mahmood, Dr Touseef Ahmed Khan, Nasir Zaidi, Asmatullah Niazi, Shahzada Zulfikar, Munizae Jahangir, Sohail Sangi, Nasir Malick, Adnan Rehmat, Iqbal Khattak, GN Mughal, Waris Raza, Habib Khan Ghori, Fouzia Shahid, Lala Rehman, Saleem Shahid, Ayub Jan Sarhandi, Shafiq Awan, Abdul Sattar, Mohammed Riaz, Azad Syed, Lala Asad, Ayub Malik and Dr Shafqat Munir.

Through the statement, they have asked the prime minister and the chief justices of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court to intervene and direct the police authorities to quash the FIR.

The case, registered at Margalla Police Station on November 28 last year, accuses the journalist of snatching a government-issued rifle, hitting a vehicle at a police barrier and possessing narcotics. The FIR also invokes Section 9(2)4 of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act (CNSA) for possessing 100 to 500 grams of crystal meth and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for acts of terrorism.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2025