KARACHI: Pakistani authorities must immediately drop their inquiry into journalist Sami Abrahim and cease subjecting members of the press to legal harassment in retaliation to their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said.

On May 6, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency opened an inquiry into Abrahim, an anchor with the privately owned broadcaster and host of a current affairs YouTube channel.

“Amid a political transition in Pakistan, the country’s new government has a unique opportunity to demonstrate its respect for press freedom, which is undermined when journalists face legal harassment in retaliation for their work,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator, in Washington, D.C.

“Authorities must drop their inquiry into Sami Abrahim, allow him to report freely, and cease harassing journalists under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022