Islamabad, June 23 (IANS) The Human Rights Council (HRC) of Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the recent reports of the arrest of senior journalist Razi Tahir and the cancellation of his bail, warning that such actions amount to an attack on media freedom in the country.

The remarks came after a Pakistani court reportedly rejected Tahir’s bail plea and ordered his arrest in a case under the country’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which critics described as a “fabricated case”.

Expressing grave concern over the incident, the HRC said, “The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees every citizen, particularly the journalistic community, freedom of expression and full legal protection, the respect for which is obligatory on all institutions of the state. The Council takes the clear position that harassing and targeting any journalist in retaliation for their professional duties, raising the voice of truth, or protecting sources of information is a direct assault on established democratic values and freedom of the press.”

The rights body called on the Government of Pakistan, relevant authorities, and the superior judiciary to ensure transparency in judicial proceedings, uniform application of the law, and adherence to international human rights principles in dealing with Tahir’s case.

“This sensitive matter must be urgently and impartially reviewed so that the rule of law in the country can be ensured and every attempt to throttle freedom of the press can be effectively countered,” it noted.

Last month, journalists in Pakistan urged the Parliament to review all media laws and termed the recent amendments to the PECA 2016 “draconian black law, specifically engineered to facilitate the arm-twisting of journalists and the suppression of Pakistan’s media landscape”, reports said.

A declaration issued at the conclusion of the National Journalists Convention on “Media Laws, Regulations, and Ethics”, organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), read: “We demand that the Parliament review all media laws that are contrary to Article 19 of the Constitution,” the daily Dawn reported.

Through the declaration, known as the “Islamabad Declaration”, the journalists slammed the “violation of the government’s solemn promise that these laws would never be weaponised against the press”.

–IANS

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