Charsadda Journalist Allegedly Arrested For Reporting KP CM's Large VIP Convoy

Journalist Abid Jan from Charsadda has allegedly been arrested for reporting about the large VIP convoy of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan. Senior anchor Hamid Mir took to Twitter and said that the arrest of journalist will take the Pakistan ranking on World Press Freedom Index further down. Pakistan is currently the 142th on a scale out of 180 countries.

https://twitter.com/HamidMirPAK/status/1251541629527261185?s=20

The PTI has in the past been criticial of VIP protocols of government officials and had vowed to bring an end to the VIP culture.

Meanwhile, press freedom has declined remarkably in Pakistan, as the country’s powerful military quietly, but effectively, restricts reporting by barring access, encouraging self-censorship through direct and indirect acts of intimidation, and even allegedly instigating violence against reporters. Journalists who push back or are overly critical of authorities are attacked, threatened, or arrested.

Senior editors and journalists say that conditions for the free press have gotten as bad as when the country was under military dictatorship and journalists were flogged and newspapers forced to close, in a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

According to a UNESCO on the threat to journalists in Pakistan, 26 journalists have been killed in the last five years.

Senior journalist, Talat Hussain also confirmed the news of Abid Jan being arrested.

https://twitter.com/TalatHussain12/status/1251531680596328449?s=20