Journalist and anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at Allama Iqbal International  Airport in Lahore in the early hours of Thursday. The arrest was confirmed by Khan’s social media team on Twitter. The team stated that Imran Riaz Khan was arrested by FIA and taken into custody at an unknown place, the airport staff misinformed the public at the scene and escorted him via backdoor entrances. Imran tweeted that it has been reported that a police team has been tipped to arrest some journalists and defamation of establishment will be termed as the reason. A few minutes later he shared that he might be arrested in night. My mobile phone and other things are being confiscated, he tweeted.

Earlier, Imran Riaz said that I have offered to call the FIA if they want to arrest me in any case. He shared that was heading towards UAE for family work, but upon reaching airport he found that his name was blacklisted. Right after arrest, Imran was taken to the cyber-crime office. They also informed that Khan would be produced in Lahore kachehri today and that the FIA would request his physical remand. However, the reason for the arrest is currently unknown. Earlier, Imran Riaz was arrested on July 6, 2022, by Attock Police as he had been a vocal critic of the incumbent government and the so-called ‘regime change conspiracy’ executed through a no-confidence motion, resulting in the ouster of Imran Khan as the prime minister.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP