Journalist Imran Riaz offloaded from Dubai-bound flight

LAHORE:

Senior journalist Imran Riaz was offloaded from a flight from Lahore to Dubai on Friday according to immigration sources, Express News reported.

The journalist’s name was added to the black list by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the request of the police.

According to FIA border control sources, the journalist was leaving for Dubai on an international carrier this morning.

Senior police officials have been informed of the removal of the journalist from the flight and his attempt to leave the country.

'Slow poisoned'

Meanwhile, the journalist took to Twitter to accuse the Lahore police of adding harmful substances in his food during his arrest.

“According to my doctors, during my arrest I was given something to eat that could be dangerous. I had to take some tests so that I can prove what has been tried,” he added, clarifying his reason for boarding a flight to Dubai.

 

However, Riaz stated that he had had been stopped at the airport.

Former prime minister Imran Khan in response to the allegations leveled by Imran Riaz shared a video of the imprisoned journalist commenting, “Imran Riaz was kept in a cage, where civilised countries would not even allow animals to be kept.”

Read CPJ urges PML-N govt to immediately release senior journalist Imran Riaz

The former premier reiterated the journalist's position, suspecting that the incumbent government had colluded to poison the critic.

 

Imran Khan lambasted the government stating, “All those responsible should be ashamed. Rather than scaring the people of Pakistan into silence, this only adds to people’s anger against this cabal of crooks and their handlers.”

On June 9, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Imran Riaz and ordered his release, after he was arrested in Islamabad.

Riaz, a vocal critic of the ruling coalition, was arrested despite the fact that a court had already granted him pre-arrest bail.

The Express News anchor, has been implicated in a slew of cases which he says were motivated by his refusal to “stop speaking the truth”.