Founder of Raftar, Farhan Mallick, was arrested by the Federal Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime unit on March 20 under anti-State charges. Credit: X

Mallick was picked up by the FIA in Gulistan-i-Johar and later charged under Sections 16, 20 and 26 (a) of the amended Prevention of Crimes and Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) as well as Sections 109 and 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for allegedly “generating and disseminating posts and videos related to anti-state, consisting of fake news and public incitement agenda”. He was subsequently presented before the Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Karachi, which granted a four-day remand before handing him over to the FIA for further investigation. The FIA has since seized data, computers, laptops, documents, and transcripts from the Raftar office. Raftar’s website is now also blocked.

Previously a news director with Samaa TV, Mallick launched Raftar as an independent digital media platform in Karachi in 2022, quickly gaining over 760k YouTube subscribers over three years for its coverage of a wide range of political investigative reporting.

In a press conference on March 21, FIA’s cybercrime additional director, Shahzad Haider, said the inquiry was initiated against Mallick three months earlier after the platform broadcast what it described as “several programmes against the security establishment”. It alleged YouTube videos on the platform were “targeting dignitaries” and had “caused harm to the reputation of public institutes on the international level”.

In a X post on March 20, Mallick’s son reported that FIA officials had earlier raided its office on March 19, “harassing staff and demanding Mallick appear to the FIA headquarters for a hearing”. During the raid, FIA officials allegedly threatened any accomplices involved with posting the content and said any device alleged to contain incriminating material would be taken.

On March 23, members of the Sukkur Union of Journalists and Pakistan Federal Unions of Journalists (PFUJ) protested outside the Magistrate’s Court, labelling Mallick’s arrest a “suppression of truth and justice”. The following day, Raftar announced the outlet had filed the for all pending charges against Mallick to the Sindh High Court to be rejected on the grounds the FIR investigation was “tainted by malice with an intent to harass”. It is not the first case of intimidation against the journalist. Mallick was previously arrested by the FIA in December 2024, after he was barred from boarding a flight to Doha. He was then detained at Karachi Airport without legal counsel for five hours.

According to the IFJ’s South Asia Press Freedom Report 2023-24, more than 300 journalists and bloggers were targeted with state coercion and harassment, including dozens of journalists arrested for durations between several hours to four weeks. IFJ monitoring also found that nearly 60 journalists were served legal notices or summons for their journalism work or personal dissent online. Of these, at least eight were charged for alleged sedition, terrorism and incitement to violence – all serious charges carrying lengthy sentences and even the death penalty.

The PFUJ said: “We strongly condemn the unlawful arrest of media personnel, and the registration of a fake case based on baseless allegations on a media manager. PFUJ calls for Mallik’s immediate release.”

The IFJ said: “The arrest of senior journalist Farhan Mallick and the arbitrary raid of Raftar is a hugely concerning case of state harassment against a news outlet publishing in the public interest. This case has much wider and worrying ramifications for the entire media sector in Pakistan and this state instituted campaign against Mallick must stop. Journalists must be safeguarded for their right to report freely without fear of reprisal or retaliation.”