Journalist Waheed Murad remanded in FIA custody

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented journalist A Waheed Murad before a judicial magistrate on Wednesday, nearly 12 hours after his alleged abduction from his home in the federal capital.

During the hearing, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah inquired about the journalist’s arrest, to which the FIA prosecutor stated that he was taken into custody last night under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

The FIR lodged against Waheed Murad states that he “is found sharing highly intimidating content / post on social media / Facebook and X … in which the alleged profile has knowingly disseminated / propagated, fake, false, misleading and misinterpreted information leading to hatred against the government functionaries…”

The FIA also claimed that Murad had shared investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani’s report regarding the army chief’s family and also posted content related to the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

Speaking in court, Murad said that his mother-in-law, a cancer patient, had arrived from Canada for treatment when the police forcefully entered their house late at night. “They even assaulted my mother-in-law before handing me over to the FIA 20 minutes ago,” he claimed. 

Murad’s lawyer, Imaan Mazari, argued that his arrest was illegal, stating that a habeas corpus petition had already been filed. She questioned why the FIA did not issue a prior notice before making the arrest. Assistant lawyer Hadi Chattha remarked that journalism had become a crime in the country and insisted that the court had the authority to discharge the journalist if no offence was committed. 

The agency sought a 10-day physical remand to access his social media accounts and the recovery of his mobile phone for further investigation. 

The court, however, approved a two-day remand and handed him over to the FIA. 

IHC moved for Murad’s recovery

Earlier, a plea was submitted by Abida Nawaz, Murad’s mother-in-law, through advocates Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in the Islamabad Hight Court (IHC) seeking the recovery of missing journalist Waheed Murad.

The petition names the Interior Secretary, Defence Secretary, Islamabad Inspector General (IG), and Karachi Company SHO as respondents.

According to the petition, armed individuals dressed in black uniforms raided their house in Sector G-8 at 2 AM, accompanied by two police vehicles. The unidentified individuals forcibly took Waheed Murad away and also misbehaved with family members, the plea states.

Despite filing a complaint at Karachi Company Police Station, no FIR was registered, the petition claims.

The petitioner has requested the court to order Murad’s immediate recovery and take legal action against those involved in his illegal abduction.

Waheed Murad picked up, alleges family

According to his family, masked men dressed in black took Waheed Murad away.

Waheed Murad, associated with Urdu News — a digital news platform owned by the Saudi Media Group (SRMG) — was at home when the incident occurred.

His wife, Shinza Nawaz also a journalist, told media that at around 2 AM, masked individuals knocked on the door, claiming her husband was Afghan and demanding entry.

Her mother, who is visiting Pakistan for medical treatment, woke up due to the noise.

Shinza stated that her husband asked if a female police officer was present, as his mother was inside. Her mother, who witnessed the incident, said the masked men threatened to break the door if it wasn’t opened. Waheed slid his ID card under the door to prove he was not an Afghan national.

Despite this, the masked men forcefully broke the door, dragged Journalist Waheed Murad outside, and took him away in a police vehicle and two Vigo pickup trucks.

Shinza’s mother claimed she was mistreated and pushed. Both she and Waheed had their mobile phones snatched. Some men later re-entered the house and took additional items.

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Shinza said multiple calls were made to the police, but no response was received. Waheed’s friends went to the police station, where only an informal report (kacha parcha) was filed after two hours.

She questioned, “If this was a police raid, where was the warrant? Why were the men masked? A colleague of Waheed who followed them was severely beaten. How can anyone live in this country?”

She added, “Police are not informing us who took my husband or under what law he has been detained.”

Waheed Murad previously worked as a reporter for News One and Daily Ausaf. He also runs the news website Pakistan 24 and is active on social media.

Soban Iftikhar Raja, a colleague, witnessed the abduction and recorded videos. When he followed the vehicles, his motorcycle was rammed, his phone was snatched, and he was also beaten.

In a video shared on social media, Soban recounted how he asked the abductors for identification, to which one replied, “Don’t you know who we are?”

Initially, Islamabad Police spokesperson Sharif Ullah said he was unaware of the incident and would check. Later, he redirected inquiries to another spokesperson, Taqi Jawad, who did not respond before this report was published, the publication claimed.