Media bodies condemn detention of Baloch journalist Ghulam Farooq

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 23 March 2022

Ghulam Farooq, a journalist in Balochistan, was detained without a warrant by the CTD Police. His current whereabouts are unknown, raising concerns among the media community.

Summary

QUETTA—The Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) has condemned the "extrajudicial detention" of journalist Ghulam Farooq by the law enforcement agencies.

The journalist was picked on March 9 and shifted to Quetta by CTD Police.

In a media statement, BUJ said that the CTD raided Farooq's house, the finance secretary of Dhadar Press Club, without a warrant and "extrajudicially detained" him. His whereabouts and condition remain unknown.

BUJ said that if the authorities have credible evidence to incriminate him in any crime, they should present him before the court and prosecute him legally. Since the "enforced disappearance" of Farooq, the group said that a wave of dread and anxiety has spread among the journalist community in Balochistan. BUJ noted that national and international journalists associations are expressing alarm over the arrest.

Freedom Network, a press rights body, also expressed concerns about the detention.

Several media activists on social media requested Chief Minister Balochistan Quddus Bizenjo and IG Balochistan Police to produce Farooq in a court.