A Pakistani court rejected the bail application on Friday of journalist Farhan Mallick, who remains in custody on charges of running allegedly "anti-state” content on his media outlet’s YouTube channel.
Mallick, the founder of digital news platform Raftar and a former news director at The same tvwas arrested on March 20 in Karachi.
He was charged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Pakistan Penal Code. The following day, he was handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for four days of physical remand.
Raftar’s response following bail rejected on March 28, 2025.Courtesy: Raftar
Bail plea dismissed
The bail hearing took place inside a local court in Karachi. Mallick’s legal team expected his bail request to be granted, but after waiting for more than three hours, Judge Yusra Ashfaq dismissed the application. A detailed order explaining the decision will be released on Saturday.
Mallick’s lawyer, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, speaking to the media, expressed disappointment but remained hopeful about appealing the decision.
“Let’s see what the (written) order says and what the reasons are,” Jaferii told reporters outside the courtroom. “We will look at the order and then go for appeal.”
FIA faces court scrutiny
During the previous hearing, Judge Ashfaq had summoned an additional FIA director for failing to comply with a court order regarding Mallick’s custody. On Friday, the FIA official appeared in court through a rear entrance. The judge ordered the agency to conduct an internal inquiry into the non-compliance and submit a report within 15 days.
It must be noted that the court had previously rejected the FIA’s request to extend Mallick’s custody and instead ordered his transfer to judicial remand. However, Mallick’s legal team accused the FIA of unlawfully keeping him in detention instead of transferring him to jail as per the court’s directive, and declaring his arrest in a separate case.
The other case, filed on March 26, accuses him of running a fraudulent call center that allegedly stole credit card information. His media outlet has denied the allegations, calling them an attempt to keep him behind bars.
Pakistan ranks 152 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index.
Journalists in the country have repeatedly faced arrests and legal actions, with press freedom advocates warning that laws like Peca are being misused to silence dissent.
