The father of a journalist from one of Pakistan’s top TV news networks said on Tuesday that officials in plain clothes and uniforms took his son from their home in Karachi, and now they don’t know where he is and are worried about his safety.
The journalist, Hafiz Maaz Bin Khalid, works for ARY News as a Digital Media Coordinator. A video shared by his family showed officers taking Khalid away in a police van from Karachi’s Buffer Zone early on Tuesday morning.
“They came in three mobile vans and a double cabin vehicle, climbed over the wall, and took my son, saying they were taking him for questioning at the Crime Investigation Agency center,” said Khalil Ur Rehman, the journalist’s father. He added that the officers, who wore both uniforms and plainclothes, did not show any warrants when asked.
“They took him along with his ID card and mobile phone. When I went to the CIA center, I was told my son wasn’t brought there. I don’t know where he is,” the father added.
“They said they were taking Maaz for an hour of questioning. It’s been almost ten hours, and we still don’t know anything.”
Senior Superintendent of Police Zeeshan Siddiqui said the police did not arrest the journalist and declined to say more. Neither the police nor the family explained why Khalid might have been taken, but two of his colleagues at ARY, who did not want to be named, believed it was because of recent social media posts critical of the army and police.
Journalists in Pakistan are reporting more media censorship. The military and government deny suppressing the press.
A report by the International Federation of Journalists, released on May 3 for World Press Freedom Day, said over 300 people in Pakistan’s media industry faced state tactics to silence dissent in the past year.
“Over 300 journalists and bloggers this year were affected by state coercion, including dozens arrested for several hours to four weeks and nearly 60 served legal notices or summons for their journalism or personal dissent online,” the IFJ Pakistan country report for 2023-2024 said.
“At least eight were charged with serious crimes like sedition, terrorism, and incitement to violence, which carry long sentences or even the death penalty.”
The report also said four journalists were killed during the period, and at least 59 journalists and bloggers were charged with crimes like sedition, terrorism, incitement to violence, defamation, or contempt.
