New York [US], September 10 : Pakistani authorities have been urged to immediately release independent journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri and withdraw the cybercrime case against him over his online commentary concerning the appointment of a senior counterterrorism official.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated that Ghauri’s detention represents a serious threat to press freedom and called on authorities to end the proceedings against him.
Ghauri, who reports and comments on current affairs through his widely followed YouTube channel, was reported missing by his family on September 6 after he disappeared from the ground-floor office at his residence in Islamabad. Authorities subsequently acknowledged that he had been taken into custody by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
According to the CPJ, the agency opened a criminal case against the journalist under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), accusing him of disseminating “fake or false” information. An Islamabad district court reportedly granted the NCCIA three days of physical remand on September 6.
The case stems from comments Ghauri published on his X account concerning the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Major General Faisal Naseer as national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority.
“Detaining journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri for his commentary on the appointment of a public official to a national security agency is a disturbing attack on press freedom in Pakistan,” said CPJ Afghanistan-Pakistan representative Waliullah Rahmani. He urged the government to release Ghauri, abandon the case and ensure journalists can investigate and question state institutions without intimidation.
The CPJ noted that Ghauri has previously attracted official scrutiny because of his journalism. In June 2021, the Federal Investigation Agency summoned him for questioning over alleged online defamation.
His latest detention comes amid growing criticism over the Pakistani authorities’ use of PECA and other cybercrime provisions against journalists and online commentators.
On July 29, Islamabad-based journalist and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor was summoned by the NCCIA for questioning under PECA over allegations involving the dissemination of “false or fake information.”