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A District and Sessions Court in Pakistan extended the physical remand of journalist Asad Ali Toor by three days after completing five days remand in Federal Investigation Agency custody.
The journalist community termed Toor's remand as harassment and an attempt to restrict free speech. Following his arrest, several journalists and activists are now protesting against the arrest, demanding that the vague FIR registered against him should be withdrawn immediately. They said that since these agencies are treating a journalist like a criminal indicates, hence, there is no room for professional journalism in the country. Asad Toor was reportedly arrested for his social media posts against the state and its officials. In a viral video, Asad Ali Toor could be seen exposing how the election results were changed in the night between February 8 and 9. According to reports, the agency officials have been pursuing Toor's digital belongings including his cell phone. Recently, Toor disclosed that he has been on hunger strike while in Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) custody. Taking to X, Journalist Hamid Mir also claimed that FIA was reportedly pressuring Toor to disclose the sources of his information. https://x.com/HamidMirPAK/status/1764177112401859019?s=20 Mir further said that the agency had previously detained Toor, however, was unable to produce any evidence against him. He claimed that the agency was attempting to use fresh accusations to settle some old scores. Reportedly, journalism has become a very dangerous profession in Pakistan as those who speak against the establishment face violent attacks, judicial harassment and censorship. (ANI)
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