SC restrains trial court from indicting journalist Matiullah Jan in terrorism case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday restrained a trial court from indicting journalist Matiullah Jan in a case involving terrorism charges, pending a decision on whether those charges should be dropped.

The case is being heard by an anti-terrorism court, where Jan is currently facing trial.

The apex court also directed the Islamabad High Court to fix and decide, at the earliest, a petition seeking the removal of terrorism provisions from the case.

Jan’s counsel, Qadeer Janjua, appeared before the court. The prosecution did not oppose the apex court issuing directions to the high court, with a deputy prosecutor stating there was no objection to such instructions.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that until a decision is reached on the petition, charges could not be formally framed against the journalist.

Jan had earlier filed an application before the trial court seeking to have the terrorism charges dismissed.

After the trial court rejected his plea, he challenged the decision in the Islamabad High Court, where the matter is currently pending.

Earlier, Islamabad police told the trial court that the original narcotics forensic report in the case against Matiullah Jan had been lost during official correspondence, according to a supplementary filing submitted in court.

In their submission, police said photocopies of the forensic report had been attached with a supplementary challan and requested the court to accept them as part of the judicial record. The filing also stated that the forensic findings were negative and no narcotics charges had been pursued on that basis.

The case against Jan was registered at Margalla Police Station on November 28, 2024.

Earlier, a laboratory report prepared by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency and presented before the Islamabad High Court found that the substance allegedly recovered from Jan did not contain methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice”, weakening the narcotics allegation against him.