By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
A court in Karachi on Wednesday, March 26, remanded journalist and YouTuber Farhan Mallick in custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for five more days till March 30 in a second cybercrime case allegedly for patronising spoofing operations.
On Tuesday, a separate court had ordered his transfer to jail under judicial remand in an earlier case of allegedly posting content critical of the security establishment.
‘FIA cases against Mallick are targeted harassment’
Mallick, who is the founder of media outlet Raftar and a former news director at Samaa TV, was taken into custody at the FIA’s Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Karachi after he appeared there in connection with an inquiry already against him on March 21.
In a statement posted on Raftar’s Facebook handle, the media outlet accused the FIA of targeted harassment.
“It has now come to light that, on the very same day Mallick’s first remand was transferred for bail, the FIA filed a new, baseless case against him—accusing a journalist of 30 years, of running a call-spoofing operation. This is nothing but targeted harassment,” said the post.
Raftar termed the FIA action against Mallick an attempt to silence independent journalism.
“This is a systematic effort to throttle the voice of an integrity-driven journalist and a direct attack on every single person who dares to speak the truth in this country. We strongly condemn these attempts to silence independent journalism and will continue to fight this injustice through all legal and public avenues,” Raftar posted.
Allegation of patronising spoofing operation
According to the second FIR registered against Mallick on March 26, the FIA said it had arrested two suspects involved in stealing confidential financial data of foreign nationals through spoofed calls and impersonation.
The FIR stated that the FIA raided the office in Karachi where the suspects were performing illegal action of spoofed calls through ‘Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIPy software to different foreign nationals and obtaining their confidential credentials by alluring them that they are calling from security department of master and visa banking system and that they will lower the interest rates on taxes upon the loan obtained by them. “Moreover, the alleged person has disclosed that the said crime was being done under the patronage of one namely Farhan Gohar Mallick,” reads the FIR.
Speaking with Voicepk.net, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, counsel for Farhan Mallick, said that the FIA had presented his client at the Malir court with a new FIR on Wednesday after keeping him in custody in violation of Tuesday’s court orders. Jaferii questioned how the FIA in a single day discovered and raided credit card fraudsters who during investigation claimed that their entire operation was being run by Farhan Mallick.
In the court, Jaferii said, he argued for his client’s discharge from this ridiculous allegation. The FIA lawyer wanted custody of Farhan Mullick because the FIA found materials which needed to be investigated. The judge remanded Mullick in the custody of the FIA for five days till March 30. Mullick has been charged with offences under sections 3, 4, 6, 13, 14, 16, 8, 26, of PECA read with sections 419, 420, 109, and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code.
Jaferii said the hearing of bail application of Farhan Mallick in the first case would be heard tomorrow while he would move bail application in the second case after expiry of the five-day remand.
Media and rights organisations have demanded Mallick’s immediate release and a transparent investigation into the matter.
RSF seeks recovery of Noorani brothers
Separately, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged the immediate release of journalist Ahmad Noorani’s brothers, who were allegedly abducted in retaliation for his investigative reporting. Noorani, a US-based journalist for FactFocus, had recently exposed a high-ranking military official and their relatives in a shocking investigative report.According to an RSF statement, around 20 armed men abducted the two brothers of Mr Noorani in Islamabad on March 19, shortly after the publication of his investigative report. It quoted the journalist as saying that “they confiscated all the phones and deleted videos taken by the family, then forcibly took the two brothers, both engineers, to an unknown location. Their relatives have had no news of them since”.
According to RSF, the local police have denied being behind the abduction. The request for comment sent by RSF to the minister of information remained unanswered, it added. “Reporters Without Borders is outraged by this abduction, which is very likely an act of retaliation. The forced disappearance of Ahmad Noorani’s brothers, which appears to be a clear reprisal to intimidate and silence the journalist, is intolerable.”
“Unfortunately, it’s just the latest example of a broader pattern of repression against critical voices in Pakistan. RSF calls on the authorities to shed light on the fate and whereabouts of the journalist’s two brothers, ensure their immediate release and bring those responsible for this outrageous act to justice,” the statement said.