Senior journalist and founder of the YouTube channel “Raftar”, Farhan Malik, has been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Karachi. Raftar’s Editor, Fahad Kehar, and Farhan Malik’s legal representative, Abdul Moiz Jafri, have confirmed the arrest. The FIA has not immediately confirmed the arrest, nor has it issued any response regarding the reports of his detention. According to Abdul Moiz Jafri, a well-known lawyer handling Farhan Malik’s legal matters, preliminary information suggests that the arrest was apparently made under the new provisions of the PECA Act 2016. However, the FIA has not yet shared the FIR or details of the case with Farhan Malik’s family. Jafri stated that Farhan Malik was called in for questioning by the FIA and was kept there for two to three hours before being arrested. In a post on its social media, Raftar stated that FIA officials arrived at their office on Wednesday without any prior notice, harassed the staff, and summoned Farhan Malik to appear at their office on Thursday at 1:00 PM. In compliance with this order, Farhan Malik went to the relevant office but was made to wait for several hours before being arrested at 6:00 PM. The statement demanded that the FIA immediately clarify the matter. Farhan Malik had previously been summoned for questioning by the FIA. However, according to Abdul Moiz Jafri, the current case is separate from past incidents.
