Family of arrested journalist assured he will be released 'soon'
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 29 June 2017
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Zafar Achakzai, a Pakistani journalist, was arrested for criticizing security agencies. His family reports he will be released soon as concerns over press freedom grow.Summary
QUETTA - The Committee to Protect Journalists has decried the arrest of a Pakistani reporter who apparently used social media to criticize security agencies for alleged reluctance to arrest a lawmaker whose vehicle struck and killed a police officer.
The brother of the detained journalist, Zafar Achakzai, says he was picked up Sunday evening by a group of men wearing both plainclothes and the uniforms of the Frontier Corps.
The brother, Asmatullah Achakzai, told The Associated Press Thursday that the family has been unable to see or visit the journalist but that they have been promised he will be released “soon.”
Pakistan has been cracking down on journalists, making it an offense to criticize the government, the military or the police.
CPJ asks that Achakzai be released quickly and unharmed. - AP
Key Points
- Zafar Achakzai was arrested for comments on social media.
- He criticized security agencies for inaction on a fatal incident.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists demands his release.
- Achakzai's family has been unable to see him since his arrest.
- Pakistan's government is intensifying its crackdown on the press.
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