KARACHI: A judicial magistrate had approved bail and freed Pakistani journalist Waheed Murad, charged earlier this week under a controversial cybercrime law, his lawyer said on Friday.
Murad, who works with the international digital media outlet Urdu News, was taken from his home by masked men early Wednesday morning, according to his family, provoking an outcry from the local media community and international journalists’ rights bodies.
A new cybercrime law, PECA, under which Murad has been charged, carries a prison term of up to three years and unleashed journalist protests when it was approved in January.
“Judicial Magistrate has approved the bail of journalist Waheed Murad and ordered his release,” Murad’s lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir told Arab News.
Pakistani journalist Waheed Murad greets his lawyer outside court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 28, 2025. (AN Photo)
The journalist was subsequently freed, with pictures widely shared on social media showing him leaving the lock-up.
The charge sheet against Murad by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) accuses him of sharing “misleading” information on social media, causing “hatred” against government functionaries.
“Accused Muhammad Waheed s/o Bara Khan is found sharing highly intimidating content/post on social media/Facebook and X Corp. on Wednesday, 12-03-2025 at 07:33 p.m. and 10:21 pm, in which the alleged profile has knowingly disseminated/propagated, fake, false, misleading and misinterpreted information leading to hatred against the government functionaries by stating therein that,” a copy of the complaint seen by Arab News said.
The complaint said a case against the journalist has been registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
Murad’s arrest came just days after the disappearance of the brothers of exiled journalist Ahmad Noorani following the publishing of a controversial report about Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir on Noorani’s website.
On March 20, the Federal Investigation Agency also arrested Karachi-based journalist Farhan Mallick, founder of the digital media platform Raftar, on allegations of airing “anti-state” content on his YouTube channel.
International rights organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, have expressed increasing concern over the deteriorating climate for press freedom. Rights defenders say the pattern reflects a shrinking space for democratic discourse in Pakistan, where journalists critical of state policies or security agencies are frequently subjected to intimidation tactics.
The criminalization of online disinformation has in particular spread fear in Pakistan, with journalists among those worried about the potentially wide reach of laws like PECA.
Pakistan is ranked 152 out of 180 countries in a press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
Islamabad has long been criticized by watchdogs for restricting Internet access, including temporary bans on YouTube and TikTok, while X has been officially blocked since February last year.
