Bol News journalist Siddique Jan was arrested in Judicial Complex violence case: police

The Islamabad police said on Tuesday that Siddique Jan, a journalist affiliated with Bol News, had been apprehended in connection with the violence and rioting that erupted outside the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) when former premier Imran Khan attended a hearing related to the Toshakhana case.

Hours-long clashes were reported between PTI workers and the capital police on Saturday after the former prime minister arrived at the FJC to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case.

Jan, the Islamabad bureau chief of Bol News television channel, was picked up from his office by the police yesterday and taken away in a private vehicle to an undisclosed location.

A police officer told Dawn yesterday that a case was likely to be registered against him upon the instructions of a senior officer. Jan’s arrest also comes after a video was shared on social media purportedly from the same day clashes took place at the FJC.

In the latest development, the police said Jan had been arrested in connection with a case filed at the CTD Police Station regarding the FJC “arson and siege”.

“Siddique Jan will be presented in court in time,” the ICT said in a tweet, without specifying the timeframe.

On Monday, Jan took to Twitter, vowing that he would reveal the truth about the video being attributed to him.

In his tweet, he accused Maryam Nawaz and the entire social media of the PML-N of spreading propaganda. He promised to present evidence that “would expose the false narratives” they were creating, and pointed out that these narratives often end up backfiring on those who create them.

He also called upon users to send him the profile links of individuals who had used the video to falsely blame him. Jan said he intended to send FIA notices to all of them, including the PML-N vice president.

The capital police had on Sunday lodged a first information report (FIR) — including terrorism charges — against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and more than a dozen people at the CTD Police Station for allegedly attacking police officers and causing chaos outside the Federal Judicial Complex.

The complaint invoked sections 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred rupees), 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.