Forensic report confirms alleged ice recovered from Matiullah Jan was not drugs

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday received a forensic report stating that the substance allegedly recovered from senior journalist Matiullah Jan was not drugs.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Inam Amin Minhas was hearing the case to determine whether charges under the narcotics laws could be formally framed. After considering the report, the court remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

Jan said in an article on He added that the High Court had referred the application, along with the laboratory report, to the trial court and directed the government to submit a supplementary application.

“Finally, thanks to the government and non-government politicians who immediately declared this false case as false and fabricated after it was recorded,” he wrote.

A day earlier, a special anti-terrorism court in Islamabad had rejected another petition filed by Jan and decided to continue framing terrorism charges against him. Judge Supra, who oversees both narcotics and terrorism cases, said the court had considered the arguments of the prosecution and defense and would formally formulate the charges.

Jan had challenged the wording of the charges in the narcotics case, arguing that there was no video evidence of the recovery of the drugs. The IHC had previously granted the prosecution additional time to submit forensic reports, but police had failed to do so in the previous two hearings.

After Wednesday’s hearing, Jan called the X case “false” and “an open attack on journalists and press freedom.” He said he was abducted from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad on November 27 while reporting on casualties during a PTI protest, after which a fake FIR was lodged against him.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Supra reserved his verdict on Jan’s application challenging the court’s jurisdiction and adjourned further proceedings until February 19.

Background

The federal police in the capital filed a case against Jan, alleging his involvement in terrorist activities and possession of narcotics following an incident at a checkpoint in Islamabad.

According to the FIR lodged by Superintendent of Police Asif Ali at Margalla police station, Jan was arrested at check post E-9 while driving a white Toyota Yaris towards the F-10. The FIR claims that the vehicle rammed into the police personnel, injuring constable Mudassir. When the vehicle stopped due to a barrier, Jan allegedly got out of the car, assaulted the constable and briefly grabbed his SMG rifle, which was later recovered by police.

The FIR further alleges that Jan appeared under the influence of a narcotic and a subsequent search of his car revealed 246 grams of methamphetamine under the driver’s seat. A one gram sample was taken for chemical testing and the car was impounded.

The case invokes section 9(2)4 of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997, covering possession of psychotropic substances between 100 grams and 500 grams. It also cites section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 as well as sections 186, 279, 353, 382, ​​411, 427 and 506(ii) of the Pakistan Penal Code relating to assault, obstructing the action of public servants, theft, mischief and threats of harm.

The FIR was registered at 3:20 am on Thursday, almost an hour after the alleged incident. Jan’s family has previously claimed that he was abducted the previous night from the parking lot of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, raising concerns over the circumstances leading to the filing of the FIR.