Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Islamabad has ordered two-day physical remand of journalist Matiullah Jan.
The decision was delivered by ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, who granted the two-day remand. The prosecutor had requested a 30-day remand for the journalist.
Prosecutor Raja Naveed appeared in court, while Matiullah Jan’s lawyer, Advocate Faisal Chaudhry, opposed the physical remand.
ATC reserved its decision on the prosecutor’s request for a 30-day remand after hearing arguments from both sides.
Matiullah Jan faced charges of assaulting police officers, stealing a weapon, and possessing drugs. He was arrested by Islamabad police late last night at I-9 check post.
According to the FIR, Matiullah Jan’s vehicle was signaled to stop at an Islamabad checkpoint, during which his car struck and injured a constable named Mudassir.
The accused allegedly threatened the officer with a gun after stealing a government weapon.
The FIR also claimed that Matiullah Jan was under the influence of drugs, and that ice was found in his vehicle. He has been transferred to the Margalla Police Station.
A case was registered against him under the provision of terrorism and anti-narcotics laws. The case was reportedly registered on the complaint of Superintendent of Police Asif Ali at 3:20am on Thursday.
According to the FIR (first information report), Matiullah was found possessing 246 grams of narcotic crystal meth. The FIR also included section of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 and several other charges under PPC (Pakistan Penal Code).
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed grave concern over the arrest of journalist Matiullah Jan and demanded his immediate release.
