NEW YORK: Pakistani authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Imran Riaz Khan, whose whereabouts are unknown, and stop harassing and detaining members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.

On March 1, the journalist—whose current affairs YouTube channel Imran Riaz Khan has some 4.6 million subscribers—was freed on bail in a corruption case and re-arrested hours later, on separate terrorism charges, outside a court in Lahore, according to multiple media reports and Azhar Siddique, one of Khan’s lawyers, who spoke to CPJ.

“Pakistan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Imran Riaz Khan and stop detaining journalists in retaliation for their work or commentary,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The detention of Khan and other outspoken journalists highlights the systematic crackdown on the press. Newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif must end this relentless campaign of intimidation against the media once and for all.”

Khan was accused of attacking police officials and damaging government vehicles on March 14, 2023, at a protest by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore, according to Siddique, who described the case as “fake and fabricated.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024