ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court Wednesday granted bail to a veteran journalist after he was arrested by federal investigators in the eastern city of Lahore on suspicion of leaking tax data of the country’s former army chief and his family, his news channel said.
The court order for the release of Shahid Aslam came less than a week after the Federal Investigation Agency raided his apartment in Lahore and transported him to the capital Islamabad.
The BOL news channel, for which Aslam works, reported Wednesday that a court in Islamabad approved bail for Aslam and that he was expected to be freed Thursday after the completion of paperwork.
The development comes a day after the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists asked Pakistan to release Aslam and allow the media to freely and independently report on military officials.
In a statement, CPJ said Tuesday that Pakistani authorities accused Aslam of involvement in a Nov. 19 article in a digital news website FactFocus. The article used leaked tax data to report on the assets of Bajwa and his family. Aslam has denied involvement.
Pakistan has a bad track record regarding freedom of expression and several journalists have been assaulted and detained by police in recent years, although the current and previous governments have insisted they support freedom of expression.
Pakistan reporter accused of leaking tax data of ex-army chief gets bail
https://arab.news/pfbaq
Pakistan reporter accused of leaking tax data of ex-army chief gets bail
- Shahid Aslam was arrested in Lahore after his apartment was raided by the Federal Investigation Agency
- CPJ had asked Pakistan a day before to release him and let the media report freely on military officials
Amid Middle East tensions, Pakistan says viral notice on temporary port shutdown is fake
- Viral fake notification claimed Pakistan suspended port entries until Mar. 10 over Middle East situation
- Tensions have surged in the region after US and Israel bombed Iran and killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information ministry on Thursday dismissed as fabricated a notice circulating on social media platforms about Islamabad suspending all types of entry at the country’s ports, clarifying that no such order has been issued.
The clarification came after a notification that stated it was from the Cabinet Division went viral on social media. It claimed that the maritime affairs ministry, on the instructions of the Prime Minister’s Office, decided to order the temporary suspension of all types of entries at Pakistan’s ports till Mar. 10.
The notification claimed that the decision was applicable on the Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim Authority, Gwadar Port Authority, Port of Pasni, Port of Ormara and the Port of Jiwani, saying the decision had been taken “in the interest of national security and strategic preparedness.”
“The notification is FABRICATED,” the information ministry’s Fact Checker account wrote on X. “No such order has been issued by the Cabinet Division or the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.”
Tensions have surged in the Middle East since Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise airstrikes against Iran after months of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran confirmed on Sunday its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes as the Middle Eastern country retaliated with drone and missile attacks against US military installations in the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has dismissed fears of a fuel shortage in the country, after the Strait of Hormuz was shut by Iran amid escalating hostilities between Tehran, the US and Israel. The conflict has disrupted tanker traffic through one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.
Pakistan, which imports most of its fuel from Middle Eastern nations, has moved quickly to ensure its stock of petroleum products does not take a massive hit.
Pakistan has asked Saudi Arabia for help in securing crude oil supplies through the Red Sea port of Yanbu, the petroleum ministry said on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has also allowed oil companies to regulate supply to their retail outlets to prevent hoarding and artificial price hikes as tensions in the Gulf surge.
