Pak journalist booked for misquoting Imran Khan over 'blasphemous' remarks
Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan
A Pakistani journalist has been arrested for reportedly attributing "disrespectful" remarks against Islam to former prime minister Imran Khan, as per local media reports. According to anarticle in Dawn newspaper, Rawalpindi police on Saturday filed a complaint at the RA Bazar police station against journalist Waqar Satti.
A cable operator named Chaudhry Nasir Qayyum filed a complaint under Sections 295-A and 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and the case was subsequently registered.
The complainant informed the police that he came across a tweet on August 24 while at his office in which a man named Waqar Satti described why he "hates" Imran and the reasons why he is against the former prime minister, according to the first information report (FIR) reported by Dawn.
FIR mentioned statements that, according to the complainant, "disrespected" Islam. "Imran Khan has not mentioned any such words mentioned in Waqar Satti's tweet -- in any of his speeches," the FIR quoted the complainant as saying. Satti's acts, he continued, had hurt his religious sentiments "as well as those of thousands of other Muslims."
A veteran journalist was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen on Saturday, further illustrating how the state of press freedom in Pakistan is deteriorating.
According to Dawn, the event happened in the Toba Tek Singh district of Pakistan's Punjab when the murdered journalist Muhammad Younis was traveling on his motorcycle toward his farms at Mouza Manganwala when two guys hiding in a field opened fire.
The journalist was shot, killed there and then, and the perpetrators ran from the scene.
Following the terrible murder, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Faisal Shahkar requested a report from Faisalabad Regional Police Officer (RPO) Babar Sarfraz Alpa.
Furthermore, according to Dawn, Jhang District Police Officer (DPO) Rashid Hidayat ordered the immediate arrest of the journalist's killers and assembled a team comprising of the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) for Shorkot and other knowledgeable officers to investigate the crime.
The restriction of media freedom in Pakistan has brought to light the fact that this right has been seriously questioned in the South Asian nation.
In Pakistan, journalists continue to struggle with constant violence and kidnappings despite taking on dangerous work for minimal pay.
Media professionals, including desk personnel and field reporters, are increasingly dealing with either financial difficulties or harassment. They are being restrained, intimidated, and threatened. Everyone faces threats, whether they work as a beat reporter or a prime-time TV anchor.
Even owners of media organizations might experience such abuse.
Notably, the International Federation of Journalists has placed Pakistan as the fifth most hazardous country in which to pursue journalism.
In the country, between 1990 and 2020, 138 media workers perished while performing their jobs, according to sources in the media. Pakistan continues to be one of the top 10 nations where those who attack journalists and the media do not face consequences.
(With inputs from agencies)
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