Matiullah Jan[a] is a senior Pakistani journalist and internet personality. [2][3][4] Due to his criticism of Pakistan's army establishment he has been threatened many times.[5]
Matiullah Jan مطیع اللہ جان | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist and Supreme Court reporter, Famous YouTuber |
| Notable work | Interviewed EX-DGFIA[1] |
| Website | YouTube channel |
Background
editJan has worked for several media outlets in Pakistan. He is known for his criticism of the Pakistani government.[6]
Due to his criticism on establishment he has been allegedly threatened many times.[5] Matiullah Jan was sacked from Waqt News, where he was working as an anchor.[7] This was allegedly due to pressure from security agencies. He currently runs his own YouTube channel.[8]
Controversy
editSupreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice of a tweet by Jan that was critical of the judiciary, and initiated contempt proceedings against him.[9][10]
First Abduction and release
editIn July, 2020, Jan was kidnapped from outside a public school. This school is located in Sector G-6, of Islamabad. He had gone to drop off his teacher wife there. CCTV footage showed that he was forcibly removed from his car and beaten by persons in uniform as well as plainclothes. His captors released him 12 hours later. Jan has implicated the security establishment for his kidnapping.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
Second Abduction and release
editOn the evening of 27 November 2024, Matiullah Jan, who had been investigating casualties from the 2024 Final Call protest of PTI, and his colleague Saqib Bashir were abducted by men in black uniforms from the parking lot of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. They were blindfolded and forced into a vehicle. Bashir recounted, "We were collecting data on the casualties."[17]
Hours before his abduction, Jan had appeared on a TV program where he read from what he claimed were hospital records contradicting the government's denial that live ammunition was used by security forces or that any protesters were killed during the dispersal. Bashir was released on a street three hours later, while Jan was subsequently charged with terrorism and possession of narcotics. A First Information Report (FIR) alleged that he was found with 246 grams of methamphetamine at a vehicle checkpoint in Islamabad's E-9 area. The case was registered at 3:20 a.m., nearly an hour after the reported incident. As of November 28, his whereabouts remain unknown, according to another colleague Asad Ali Toor.[17][18]
Publications
editHe has authored or co-authored the following publications:
- Guaranteeing Copyright: Media Manager's Guide to Pakistani Broadcast Law, Internews, 2004. Co-authored with Muhammad Aftab Alam.
- Media in Pakistan, Growing Space, Shrinking Freedoms: Annual Report on State of Media Freedoms in Pakistan, Internews, 2005. Co-authored with Adnan Rehmat.
- Watching the Watchdog, How Pakistan is Front Paged and Headlined? : a Report on Trends in Pakistani Media, Centre for Civic Education Pakistan, 2006. Co-authored with Zafarullah Khan.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Dawn.com (2020-10-06). "Former FIA DG says was told to file terrorism case against Maryam's social media cell 'by highest office'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "Matiullah Jan: Pakistan anger as video shows reporter's abduction". BBC News. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "MATIULLAH JAN". pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Journalist Matiullah Jan missing from Islamabad". dawn.com. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ a b Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Matiullah Jan: Critical journalists 'routinely threatened' in Pakistan | DW | 19.08.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "Explained: Who is Matiullah Jan, the Pakistani journalist who was abducted this week?". The Indian Express. 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "Sacked Matiullah Jan gets support on Twitter - Journalism Pakistan". www.journalismpakistan.com. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ "Explained: Who is Matiullah Jan, the Pakistani journalist who was abducted this week?". The Indian Express. 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ Asad, Malik (2020-10-09). "Court bars FIA from arresting journalist over his tweets". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "SC issues contempt of court notice to journalist Matiullah Jan". The Nation. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "Pakistani journalist Matiullah Jan describes how he was kidnapped and what happened thereafter". Hindustan Times. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "Journalist Matiullah Jan goes missing from Islamabad: HRCP". thenews.com.pk. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Kugelman, Michael. "No, Mr. Prime Minister, Pakistan Does Not Have a Free Press". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "Pakistan: Journalist Matiullah Jan abducted in broad daylight and released after twelve hours". IFEX. 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ Jan, Matiullah. "An 'alleged kidnapping' and the velvet glove of law in Pakistan". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ Hassan, Syed Raza (2020-09-12). "Pakistani journalist arrested, accused of defaming military". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ a b Shahzad, Asif (28 November 2024). "Pakistani journalist probing Imran Khan protest casualties charged with terrorism, lawyer says". Reuters.
- ^ Qarar, Shakeel. "Senior journalist Matiullah Jan booked in terrorism, narcotics case as CPJ, HRCP demand release". Dawn.