Muzaffarabad-based newspaper The Daily Jammu & Kashmir was accused on April 6 of “spreading fake news” and disseminating “negative propaganda” in a case registered by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Department of Home Affairs. Chief Editor Aamir Mehboob and editors Raja Kafeel and Shazad Ahmed were among the management staff booked under Sections 500, 501, 504, and 505 of the Azad Kashmir Penal Code.

Police received a First Information Report (FIR) on March 28, lodged on the orders of Prime Minister Anwarul Haq and Interior Minister Waqar Noor. The Department says a report published by the newspaper on March 26 “falsely” claimed the Cabinet approved the formation of a new Azad Jamu Parliamentary Ranger Force and criticised the Secretariat Police Station in Muzaffarabad. According to the FIR, the Cabinet had intended to restructure the AJK Police Force instead and insists the newspaper’s account was “damaging” to the public order.

On September 14, 2024, the AJK government passed an amended Section 505(c) of the region’s Penal Code (1860), recognising “public criticism of government officials” a punishable offence, with a minimum of seven years in prison.

Several press organisations across Pakistan denounced the charges, with the PFUJ threatening protests across Kashmir if the case is not withdrawn. The Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) also condemned the case, calling it a “cowardly attack on the freedom of the press.”

In a similar incident, a FIR was lodged at Dadlo Police Station in Pano Akil, Sukkur on April 7 against Sindh-based journalist, Muneeb Indhar, under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and Sections 500, 504 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Indar allegedly used “derogatory” language against President Asif Ali Zardari on his Facebook account. Police allegedly raided the house of Indhar and abducted his brother, Abdul Qadeer, shortly after.

In light of ongoing protests against the draconian PECA Act, a delegation led by newly elected PFUJ Secretary General, Shakeel Ahmed, visited IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, at the IFJ Headquarters in Brussels on April 6 to discuss current cases registered against media professionals in Pakistan. Secretary Bellanger says recommendations to the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of Pakistan will be made through letters, ensuring action will be taken with the United Nations if the ‘black law’ fails to be repealed.

The PFUJ said: “The FIR against the newspaper and staff is the first of its kind and an open violation of democratic values, freedom of speech ​​and human rights. Both the Sindh government & Azad Kashmir Administration must immediately withdraw their FIR and refrain similar actions in future. This act of registering cases against journalists spurs desperation amongst the journalist community and cannot be tolerated.”

The IFJ said: “The rising number of cases registered against journalists and media workers is an alarming trend intended to suppress press freedom in Pakistan. The IFJ calls on the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government to immediately withdraw the cases against The Daily Jammu & Kashmir newspaper and journalist Muneeb Indhar, and cease the use of restrictive legislation to arbitrarily persecute media professionals.”