Afghan court jails Pakistani journalist for four years

Officials say Faizullah Khan was sentenced to four years in jail for 'contacting terrorists'.

JALALABAD: An Afghan court has sentenced a Pakistani journalist to four years in jail for "contacting terrorists", officials said on Wednesday.

Faizullah Khan, a reporter with the ARY news channel, was arrested in April by Afghan security forces in Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan after contacting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

"We have found photos of him showing him with a gun among terrorists," Wafiullah Usmani, the head of the national security court of Nangarhar, told AFP.

"He is accused of contacting terrorists. He did not have any travel documents on him when he was arrested."

Khan was arrested with two TTP members on the Afghan side of the border, he said. The sentence was passed on July 9.

Ahmad Zai Abdulzai, a spokesperson for the provincial governor, said the journalist was arrested for "threatening national security".

Akhtar Munir, an official with the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, said its consulate in Jalalabad was assisting the reporter, who would appeal against the verdict.

"The Afghan government has been approached at various levels to help in releasing the journalist," he added.