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Arrest, release and arrest: Pakistan's love-hate relationship with a news anchor
Imran Riaz Khan: Imran Riaz Khan's lawyer said that the news anchor was taken into custody from the Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Pakistan's federal investigation agency (FIA) arrested news anchor Imran Riaz Khan over delivering a ‘hate speech’, Dawn reported. The news anchor has been critical of the Shehbaz Sharif led government in Pakistan.
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Imran Riaz Khan was arrested in Lahore for making a "violence-inducing statement" aimed at creating "a rift between the general public and the state institutions", the authorities said. Imran Riaz Khan's lawyer said that the news anchor was taken into custody from the Allama Iqbal International Airport by FIA's cybercrime wing, Dawn reported.
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According to the FIR Imran Riaz Khan was "found involved in publicly making a hate speech at a conference which falls under the territorial jurisdiction of FIA cyber crime cell", the report said adding that the speech was publicly shared on social media platforms nationally and internationally.
Last year, Imran Riaz Khan was was arrested in connection with a treason case, Dawn reported. However, Lahore High Court granted bail to Imran Riaz Khan. The FIR also says that Imran Riaz Khan accused the army in his speech and said that they had put Pakistan's integrity at stake.
