Pakistani journalist arrested for social posts against government officials

Asad Ali Toor has been accused of to trying to ‘coerce, intimidate, and incite violence’ against government officials in recent weeks.

Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistani journalist and video blogger Asad Ali Toor was arrested by federal authorities on Monday on charges of orchestrating a malicious campaign against the state and its officials, with the “objective to coerce, intimidate, and incite violence” against them through his social media platforms.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) detained Toor for more than eight hours two days earlier, during which he was questioned on the same charges, according to his lawyers.

Imaan Mazari-Hazir, the counsel representing Toor, said that her client was brought to a court in Islamabad on Tuesday morning and was subsequently sent to custody for five days.

“The FIA asked for a 10-day remand, but the court limited it to five days. We will try to gain as much access to him during this period as is possible, and once it is over, we will try to seek bail for him,” she said.

Mazari-Hazir said that her client was cooperating fully with law enforcement officials. “He appeared before the FIA on February 23, even when he had not been duly served a notice to show his good faith. He was detained for eight hours. But he was sent another notice within 24 hours to appear on Monday,” she told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera requested comments from Murtaza Solangi, the caretaker information minister, but did not receive a response from him.

In recent months, several of Toor’s social media posts and videos have been critical of government agencies, Pakistan’s military establishment and even the Supreme Court. He criticised Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, especially after the top court upheld a decision by