Urgent Appeal: Release of Journalist and Unblocking Social Media in Pakistan

Free speech advocates are calling for the unconditional release of independent journalist Asad Ali Toor and the lifting of a month-long blockade of X in Pakistan, formerly known as Twitter, by Pakistani authorities.

FIA arrested Toor, who has nearly 300,000 followers on X and over 160,000 subscribers to his YouTube political affairs channel, on February 26. Authorities accused him of running a “malicious” and “anti-state” campaign through his social media platforms against Pakistani government officials and state institutions.

Before his arrest, Toor frequently broadcast commentaries critical of the chief justice of Pakistan and the country’s powerful military establishment.

Urgent Appeal: Release of Journalist and Unblocking Social Media in Pakistan

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in the U.S., has demanded Toor’s immediate and unconditional release, the return of his devices, and an end to harassment against him for his journalistic work.

According to CPJ’s Asia program coordinator Beh Lih Yi, the detention and investigation of Toor, along with the seizure of his devices and pressure to disclose his sources, violate press freedom in Pakistan. Yi called on Pakistani authorities to stop using laws like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to persecute journalists and stifle critical reporting.

In a remand application filed in court on March 3, the FIA stated that Toor was uncooperative in disclosing his sources of information, despite local laws protecting journalists’ right to privacy and non-disclosure of sources.

Matiullah Jan, a well-known Pakistani journalist with over 1 million X followers and more than 270,000 YouTube subscribers, criticized Toor’s arrest, stating that due process of law was being denied to him.

Jan emphasized that instead of delivering justice, the due process of law was being misused to punish a journalist. He highlighted instances of mistreatment, such as handcuffing Toor and denying his family access to him, as abuses of the legal process against a journalist for reporting critical information.

Authorities have arrested Toor, making him the second Pakistani journalist arrested in the past month. Authorities took Imran Riaz Khan, a nationally known journalist, into custody in late February in Punjab province on alleged corruption charges. Khan denied any wrongdoing and claimed that authorities were punishing him for criticizing alleged state-sponsored rigging in the February 8 national elections.

Access to X remains restricted in Pakistan, nearly a month after services were suspended amid election rigging allegations. Users, including government officials and ministers, have resorted to using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the ban.

Human rights defenders and Pakistani lawmakers have criticized the restriction, placing Pakistan among countries that have imposed long-term or permanent bans on international social media platforms.

A group of nearly 60 local and foreign civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, criticized internet disruptions in Pakistan, saying they infringe upon fundamental rights of access to information and freedom of expression.

The statement called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to issue a clarification outlining the reasons and legal basis for blocking X and other affected platforms. Government officials have denied any disruption in internet services, but independent monitors and Pakistani users refute these claims.

The shutdown of mobile internet services across Pakistan on election day, citing terrorism threats, sparked domestic and international backlash, fueling allegations of vote rigging.