Local court in Karachi directs journalist to deposit Rs100,000 as surety bond for his release on bail in case
KARACHI: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-April 7th, 2025) A local court on Monday granted bail to renowned journalist Farhan Malik in a case related to ‘anti-state content’ on his YouTube channel.
The court granted bail to journalist Farhan Malik against surety bond of Rs100,000.
Farhan Malik, the founder of the digital media platform “Raftar” and former Director of news at a private tv channel, was arrested by the FIA Cyber Crime Karachi on March 20.
An inquiry had been ongoing against Farhan Malik for the past three months, and he was accused of uploading content against the state and its institutions.
A case was filed against him under the Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly posting anti-state content on his YouTube channel.
Later, on March 26, the Judicial Magistrate Malir’s court sent journalist Farhan Malik on a five-day physical remand to the FIA in a new fraud case involving foreigners through an alleged call center.
Previously, Farhan Malik's bail application was rejected by the Judicial Magistrate East.
After the rejection of the bail application by the Judicial Magistrate, the accused submitted a request to the District and Sessions Judge East through his lawyer.
The petitioner requested the court to annul the Magistrate's order and grant him bail. Last week, Karachi's district court issued a notice to the FIA regarding Farhan Malik's bail application.
According to the FIR filed on March 20, the FIA received a report about Raftar TV’s YouTube channel, where anti-state campaigns were being conducted through videos.
A case was filed against the founder of Raftar TV, Farhan Malik, under sections 16 (illegal use of identifying information), 20 (offenses against the dignity of a person), 500 (punishment for defamation), and 109 (instigation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), as well as Section 26A of the Electronic Crimes Prevention Act (PECA).
