Afghan prosecutors are seeking a stiffer sentence against a Pakistani television reporter, who was awarded four years in prison in July on charges of travelling to the neighbouring country without documents, his lawyer said on Thursday.
The Afghan High Court had a brief hearing of the appeal on September 16, sources close to the legal proceedings told The Express Tribune on Thursday. ARY News reporter Faizullah Khan was also presented in court.
An Afghan prosecutor read out a charge sheet and told the High Court that while Faizullah has been convicted on one charge, a verdict has yet to be given on other charges.
Faizullah was detained by Afghan security officials in eastern Nangarhar province in April this year. Reports suggested that Faizullah was on assignment to interview Taliban leaders, but the Afghan spy agency charged him with espionage.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2014.
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Afghans just released western reporters for the same charge but could not pass Indian Advisors. I say: why don't they just send him to India and let them have the cake. Another snake in the bush rising his head. What a Snake Pit our destiny has brought us into?
Respect the law, enforce and implement it. Seeing the number of comments against the Afghan Judicial system for implementing immigration laws, we can see the contempt Pakistani citizens have for law, no wonder the law and order system is in shambles.
In the 80's I lived in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi. I was a normal carefree teen back then but had the presence of mind to see how Afghans made changes in the social and economical fabric of my neighborhood and the rest of the city. Afghans migrated in droves. Most of them were not poor refugees but people with lots of money. They had forged documents and Pakistani ID cards and passports. Two lady doctors moved to our area, one of them was running a brothel in the guise of a clinic. Several families moved in who clearly bragged about smuggling heroine. They came with just the clothes on their backs and within years bought huge homes, expensive cars and commercial properties. Most of them and their kids did not speak a word of any language spoken in Pakistan but still claimed that they were born and raised just "outside" Peshawar in their broken English and Urdu. They had tonnes of illegal money and openly promoted the culture of guns and drugs. I am not saying that all Aghans are the same. Just writing what I witnessed back in the 80's while growing up in a lower middle class neighborhood. I still remember one elderly gentleman who would encourage us youth to go for Maghrib prayers while we played cricket on the streets. The same man was a notorious heroine smuggler. If my memory serves right, he lost 4 suns in a freak accident when a waive swept away his family at the beach in Karachi.
@Fareed You can find reference of my statement here. http://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/polio-virus-afghanistan-found-peshawar-water. Secondly I said what I see daily in the hospitals of peshawar. Blood cancer, brain TB, polio are the leading cases of Afghan visits to Pakistan. And about congo, all those who died in the recent epidemic of congo in Pakistan, were afghans living in Afghanistan and visited Pakistan for treatment except one person, who was a Pakistani. He contracted the disease from one of the afghan patient. My point is I have no objection on any service to Afghans. But if they jail a Pakistani only because he was not carrying travel documents, all those cross the border daily from their side without any regulation must be dealt the same here in peshawar. They don’t deserve to in hospitals, infecting and killing Pakistani people, they deserve to be in jail.
@Azeem:
This might come as a surprise to you but, law isn't a stock market for personal favors.
For all those Pakistanis complaining about Afghans living illegally in Pakistan, one simple question Arent Afghans part of the so called "MUSLIM UMMAH" part of the "MUSLIM WORLD" in one sentence you call all MUSLIM ur brothers in another u want them to be thrown out . So basically the hypocrisy is " BROTHER " when it serves you . fruits of wrong education. We Indian could not thank Jinnah enough....
ET FACTS NEED TO BE PUBLISHED
@Fareed: Are you high? Swiss of Asia?? Pakistanis milking the Afghans? Police brutality on "innocent" Afghans? If you are not high then u made my day. lol..
Its high time Pakistan respects Afghan laws and its law enforcing machinery. This journalist violated afghan law and is being punished accordingly and not disproportionately or unfairly. He was given opportunity to defend himself and an established court heard him and the prosecution and gave the verdict. The verdict must be respected. Pakistan govt. seeking clemency for him is fair enough but maligning Afghanistan that there is no freedom of press or govt. is doing excesses is unfair.
The journalist was an educated man and was aware that without valid travel documents, entering another country is considered a crime. Pakistan, by dragging her feet in this case, i only harming her reputation.
Afghan society, you should be ashamed in praising the decision of your court .
Apart from this people of Pakistan have the right to say against a racist decision of their court .
We must open our eyes for and ask the government enough is enough.
They will see the chaos after uncle sam left.
@hellodrsoul emphasized textThey are the cardinal source of some of the communicable and lethal health conditions for people in peshawar including polio, congo and TB..
Firstly I dont think you are that old to remember 1980s, secondly as a muslim and being a citizen of pureland you shouldn't lie! Look at the polio compaign that is failing in your country, isn't it a good example of who is the source of some health conditions. It wouldn't be funny if someone made such a comment from a country in Europe or a state in US.
When Afghans moved from main cities of Afghanistani to peshawar a poor and deprived state of Pakistan which is still the same, Afghanistan was called the Swiss of Asia. I dont think those conditions you named above would have existed in Asia's Swiss.
As for as this reporter is concerned, I do hope he gets justice; it can be anything.
and we still have around 3 million Afghans roaming around this country committing crimes against us in freedom. What a country !!
From health perspective, Afghanis enjoy same free treatment as Pakistani nationals in peshawar. They are the cardinal source of some of the communicable and lethal health conditions for people in peshawar including polio, congo and TB. All these Afghan nationals (plus those afghans who are already living as refugees here in peshawar) come with these diseases and thus import these diseases without any travel documents. I ll for sure, personally, as a medical practitioner, review my attitude and guidance after learning this news.
This is Umma of the 21st century.
Sine 1979 when the Russians invaded Afghanistan we've welcomes our Afghan brethren into Pakistan.
Their children went to schools on Pakistan Their children go to Universities in Pakistan Some Afghan have set up businesses in Pakistan Some have married and have settled on Pakistan President Karnak and others built their home in Pakistan Generations of Afghans since 1979 have treated Pakistan as their sanctuary.
But no those in government in Afghanistan have a corrupted mindset. Watch the chaos when Americans leave.
@Azeem very good then ask from your Government to take a firm action ok, Two wrong doesn't make a right.
Afghans live, work and (illegally) buy properties in Pakistan. They also have a parallel governance system in Pakistan where they decide their disputes. They do not respect the local laws and are involved in crimes and smuggling. Every dog and his father can influence Pakistan bureaucracy, politicians and military. However, we are such a miserable country that even Afghanistan can settle vendetta against us. Shame on all of Pakistan governance system.
Dear Gurion,
^ As if all afghans who are living in pakistan have all come through legitimacy.
It is like you come to my house, go and meet with my enemy & praise them and expect me to just sit and watch you...not happening. If Afghans are living in Pakistan is a different matter and they have been abused by pakistani police too while the pakistani society have been milking them.
How come this is about "media freedoms" when this is a clear case of a Pakistani breaking Afghan law?
Why our Gov letting hundred of thousand afghanies in pakistan without any visa. Why don't they just throw them out of here.