Bogus case registered in ongoing harassment of journalist Furqan Rao

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 3 September 2025 |  IFJ Media Release

A legal case against journalist Furqan Rao has been condemned by the International Federation of Journalists for its basis in harassment and political vendetta. The FIR against Rao is tied to a dispute over union elections at the Associated Press of Pakistan.

Summary

The government-operated Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) has filed a legal case against Islamabad-based journalist Furqan Rao–the latest development in a long-running case of harassment against the media union leader. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), condemn the ongoing intimidation of journalists on bogus allegations and call for the case to be immediately withdrawn.

A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged with Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on August 12 against Furqan Rao, the former Director of International Affairs for APP. Rao’s inclusion in the FIR is said to be based on the recommendations of a questionable recent fact-finding committee, which alleged the journalist was involved in the misappropriation of employees’ salaries at the media outlet.

Pakistan’s unions and media leaders have labelled it a clear case of political victimisation, following a long-running dispute between Furqan Rao and the media outlet related to a collective bargaining agent election outcome in 2024 that was strongly opposed by the outlet’s management. At the time, IFJ reported on the case and a subsequent physical attack on Rao in the APP offices on March 29, 2024. Following the attack, Rao lodged an FIR with the police against one of his alleged attackers. APP’s Managing Director, Muhammad Asim, was also later accused of assaulting the journalist in a supplementary statement.

Rao was later dismissed from APP by the managing director, though he appealed for his reinstatement in May 2024. That appeal remains pending with the Ministry of Information. Rao currently serves as an executive member of the IFJ affiliate PFUJ.

The PFUJ said the so-called fact-finding committee was constituted by the APP’s managing director, Muhammad Asim, and was alleged to have included individuals who were named in the FIR lodged by Rao. It says the current FIR against Rao “lacks merit and is entirely disconnected from the facts” given the journalist held no role in finance, audit, or accounts during his tenure. The union said his responsibilities were solely limited to editorial oversight of the Chinese News Services and International Affairs. Moreover, APP employees were also reported to have submitted affidavits to the FIA stating they had received full salaries throughout their roles at the news outlet.

PFUJ said: “The inclusion of Dr Rao’s name in the FIR has been denounced as a clear act of personal vendetta, linked to a March 2024 dispute during the APP Collective Bargaining Agents election. The union calls on the Federal Minister for Information to break his silence and take urgent action against the managing director of APP, in line with the committee’s recommendations, and to ensure that justice prevails.”

The IFJ said: “The IFJ stands in solidarity with Furqan Rao and his union as they call on authorities to immediately cease the harassment of this respected journalist and union leader. Journalists must not be subject to unjust persecution for their union activism which is a fundamental right to association”.