Shahid Aslam was arrested final week over report on alleged wealth of Common Qamar Javed Bajwa, the previous military chief, and his household.
Islamabad, Pakistan – A court docket in Islamabad has ordered the discharge of journalist Shahid Aslam on bail in a case associated to the alleged leak of tax information for former military chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and his household.
Aslam, a reporter with Bol Information, was arrested final week within the japanese metropolis of Lahore by the Federal Investigation Company, after which he was moved to Islamabad.
Aslam was charged with sharing info relating to private tax particulars of Common Bajwa and his household with the information web site FactFocus, which printed it in November, days earlier than the military chief’s retirement.
Aslam denied that he was behind the leak.
The FactFocus report accused Bajwa and his household of amassing belongings value almost $52m and offered official tax information and wealth statements to substantiate the allegations.
Aslam’s arrest was condemned by media and civil rights teams, who accused the federal government of pressuring the media into silence. The Committee to Shield Journalists criticised the arrest.
“The arrest of reporter Shahid Aslam underscores the damaging atmosphere for journalists in Pakistan,” Beh Lih Yi, its Asia programme coordinator, stated in an announcement.
“Authorities should instantly and unconditionally launch Aslam and respect his proper to privateness and the confidentiality of his sources as assured below the nation’s journalist security legislation,” she stated.
The Human Rights Fee of Pakistan stated the arrest not solely restricted Aslam’s freedom of expression, however “such ways set the damaging precedent of obstructing the work of investigative journalists”.
This month, Human Rights Watch warned, “Area free of charge expression and dissent in Pakistan is quickly shrinking.”
“Pakistan’s politicians are locked in an influence wrestle through which a free media and vibrant civil society are the casualties,” it stated.
Pakistan was ranked 157 out of 180 nations on the 2022 press freedom index, printed yearly by Reporters With out Borders. It represented a decline of 12 positions from the 2021 rankings.
Islamabad-based lawyer Aftab Alam, an skilled on media legal guidelines, stated, “Sedition legal guidelines in different nations are being eliminated, however we nonetheless use it.”
“It is a legacy of colonial-era legal guidelines, and repeatedly we've got seen their utilization within the title of nationwide pursuits or to stop so-called faux information,” he advised Al Jazeera.
“These actions by authorities are a solution to management the lots,” he stated. “Our legal guidelines require reforms.”
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