Case Update Status

An Islamabad sessions court on Jan 18 granted bail to Aslam.

Summary of Case

"On January 13, Bol News Special Correspondent Shahid Aslam was arrested from Lahore by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection with a Fact Focus investigative story on the assets of former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa. As stated in court Aslam was asked to share his laptop password. A local court in Islamabad granted the FIA two-day physical remand of the journalist on January 14. An Islamabad sessions court on Jan 18 granted bail to Aslam. In November 22, Fact Focus had published an investigative story “Army chief Qamar Bajwa’s family became billionaire within last six years.” Following the publication of this report, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had taken notice of the leak of tax records of the former army chief’s family. According to Dawn, Dar had directed “the special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha to personally lead an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law[s] and breach of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data, affix responsibility and submit a report within 24 hours.” Detailing proceedings from the court hearing on Saturday, Geo reported that the prosecutor said that Aslam was “allegedly getting information from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)”. Aslam had denied the charges against him. As per the report, the prosecutor said that suspects involved in leaking the FBR information “had repeatedly named Aslam”. Furthermore, the report added that the prosecutor asked why Aslam wasn’t sharing his laptop password and the “judge remarked that it was not wrong to get information as a journalist”. Under the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, 2021, each journalist is guaranteed a right to privacy. In a video outside the courtroom, Aslam said that “they” were asking for his password. “I will not give my password. Over my dead body. They can hang me upside down, break my bones, even yesterday they tried …” Aslam’s right to privacy must be safeguarded. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) strongly condemned the arrest and termed it an attack on press freedom. In a joint statement, PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari said that the current federal government was using PEMRA and FIA as a tool to repress the media. The PFUJ reminded Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb that FIA’s arrest of Aslam was in violation of an Islamabad High Court (IHC) under which the FIA was required to consult the PFUJ leadership, when they received a complaint against a journalist, before taking action against them. They added that this arrest was a violation of press freedom and contempt of court. "

Category of Incident

Arrest

ICCS Status

ICCS Divisions: 0803-Acts related to freedom of expression or control of expression

ICCS Group: 08039-Other acts related to freedom of expression or control of expression

ICCS Class: N/A

ICCS Crime: Acts related to freedom of expression or control of expression

Reported By

Bol News

Date of incident

14

Month

January

Year

2023

Name of affected person

Shahid Aslam

Other affected persons

No other person was affected

Name of affected organization

Bol News

Other affected organizations

No other organization was affected

Action by

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)

City

Lahore

Province

Punjab

Designation

Reporter

Professional category

Journalist

Age of victim

40

Marital Status

Compensation Details

Amount of compensation announced by government: No compensation announced

Date of compensation announcement by government: No compensation announced

Date of compensation paid by government: No compensation announced

Amount of compensation announced by others: No compensation announced

Date of compensation announced by others: No compensation announced

Date compensation paid by others: No compensation announced

FIR Details

Was FIR registered ?: No

Court Details

Was case investigated ?: FIR was not registered

Court where case was presented: FIR was not registered

Name of prosecuting lawyer: FIR was not registered

Date of first court hearing:

Date of last court hearing:

Status of court case: FIR was not registered

Journalist Union Status

PFUJ

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) strongly condemned the arrest and termed it an attack on press freedom. In a joint statement, PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari said that the current federal government was using PEMRA and FIA as a tool to repress the media.

APNS

N/A

CPNE

N/A

PBA

N/A

Media Source Status

Media reports:

Condemn Status

Colleague of victim

Condemned

Employer organization

Condemned

Press Club Status

Press club 1: Condemned

Press club 2: N/A

Press club 3: N/A