Imran Riaz Khan, a respected Pakistani journalist and TV broadcaster, was arrested in Lahore on Thursday for his “controversial views,”.
A few hours prior, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was apprehended by the Islamabad Police.
Officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed that their team detained Riaz at the Allama Iqbal International Airport as he boarded a flight to Dubai. The officials spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity.
According to sources, the FIA will request the journalist’s custody by presenting him before a Lahore court.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) expressed its disapproval of the arrest and claimed that they “may safely [state] that human rights are entirely non-existent in Pakistan.”
“The FIA has detained Imran Riaz Khan in custody. We can confidently assert that Pakistan, a fascist nation where the rule of law is nonexistent, has no human rights whatsoever!” According to a tweet from the group’s Twitter account.
A video from the “location Riaz had been transported to” was also included in the message.
Asad Umar, the head of the PTI, denounced the arrests. He stated that despite Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Imran Riaz being in jail, terrorists were still at large.
The authorities prevented Riaz from leaving the nation for the second time. The authorities removed him from a flight to Dubai on July 15 of the previous year because he was listed on a “black list” after his arrest in numerous sedition instances.
Riaz was detained earlier that month in Attock in connection with one of 17 treason cases against him in Punjab. The detention took place in Attock.