Senior journalist Matiullah Jan arrested in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Matiullah Jan, a prominent Pakistani journalist, has been arrested in Islamabad, ARY News reported on Thursday.

As per details, a case has been registered against Matiullah at the Margalla police station.

According to the FIR, the driver allegedly attempted to run over personnel who signaled him to stop the vehicle. The driver reportedly intentionally accelerated the vehicle towards the personnel, putting their lives at risk.

However, they managed to stop the vehicle by throwing a barrier down on the route.

Matiullah Jan has been named in the case, the FIR also mentioned that he was found to be on drugs as ice was recovered from the vehicle’s seat.

The case includes charges of attempted murder and other serious offenses.

PFUJ

Reacting to Matiullah’s arrest, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) demanded immediate release of the senior journalist and warned of countrywide protest if demand not met.

According to PFUJ’s official statement, the arrest of Matiullah Jan is concerning in the light of his previous arrest in 2020. The union urged unbiased and transparent investigation of the incident as illegal arrest of journalist will not be tolerated in any civilized society.

It’s worth mentioning here that in 2020, the Matiullah Jan was allegedly abducted by an unidentified group of men from Sector G-6 of Islamabad in broad daylight. The abductors fled to an unknown location after kidnapping the journalist.

Later, unidentified kidnappers released senior journalist Matiullah Jan after around 12 hours and left him at a location near Fateh Jang town.

Sources said that he departed for his home with his brother after getting released by the abductors who left him near Fateh Jang, a small town located in Punjab province.