Matiullah | Pakistan

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday restrained the anti-terrorism court (ATC) from framing charges against veteran journalist Matiullah Jan, and directed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to expeditiously decide on the challenge to the terrorism charges invoked against him. Headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, a three-judge SC bench took up a plea by the journalist seeking to set aside the IHC’s Feb 23, 2026, order denying ad-interim relief to stay his criminal trial. During the hearing, the prosecution did not object to the issuance of directions to the high court, while the apex court observed that it would not go into the merits of the case at this stage so as not to prejudice it in favour of either party. Barrister Qadeer Janjua represented Jan in the case, in which the journalist raised questions about the trial court’s jurisdiction and the applicability of terrorism charges against him. Filed under Article 185(3) of the Constitution, the petition challenged the Feb 23 IHC order, which, while issuing notic...

ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic development in the narcotics and terrorism case against senior journalist Matiullah Jan, a forensic report submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday revealed that the substance allegedly recovered from him was not a prohibited drug. The case — registered at Margalla Police Station on Nov 28, 2024 — had accused the journalist of snatching a government-issued rifle, hitting a vehicle at a police barrier and possessing narcotics. Initiation of legal proceedings against Jan drew strong criticism from journalist bodies and rights groups, who maintained that he was being targeted for investigating reports of alleged deaths during law enforcement action against PTI protesters in November 2024. On Thursday, a division bench comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas heard the matter in a packed IHC courtroom. During the hearing, the Islamabad police placed on record a laboratory report prepared by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency. According to ...

An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad issued a notice to police on Friday on an application for the provision of documents in a narcotics and terrorism case registered against senior journalist Matiullah Jan. The case, registered at Margalla Police Station on November 28 last year, accuses the journalist of snatching a government-issued rifle, hitting a vehicle at a police barrier and possessing narcotics. Initiation of legal proceedings against Jan has drawn strong criticism from journalist bodies and rights groups, who maintain that he is being targeted for investigating reports of alleged deaths during law enforcement action against PTI protesters in November last year. At the outset of the hearing today, lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq submitted a power of attorney to Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra on behalf of Jan. He also contended that the journalist had been “portrayed as a terrorist” in the case. Judge Sipra remarked that the other side needed to be heard as well and issued a notice to police for November 8 on an app...