Quetta: A case was registered against journalist Agha Obaid nearly half an hour after he published a vlog containing information about the Balochistan Chief Minister’s House. The following night, his house was raided, and later, the declaration of daily Sada-e-Olas was also cancelled.

Speaking to Tribal News Network (TNN), Agha Obaid said he received repeated phone calls on October 29, informing him that an incident had taken place at the Chief Minister’s House. On October 29, 30 and 31, he contacted different individuals to gather details about the matter. During this process, he was told that some people had visited the Chief Minister’s House, but conflicting information emerged regarding the purpose of their visit and what had happened there.

According to him, eight to nine of his sources inside the Chief Minister’s House provided him with different details. Based on this information, he published a four-minute vlog on the night of October 31. In the vlog, he clearly stated that he had received conflicting accounts from various sources and urged the Chief Minister’s House to issue an official clarification or denial to establish the facts.

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Agha Obaid said that nearly half an hour after the vlog was published, an FIR was registered against him under the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). His house was raided the following night. He added that he had also contacted government officials and made phone calls to verify the information, but none of them responded.

He said that if any information presented in the vlog was incorrect, the relevant authorities could have issued a clarification or denial. He was ready to present his position regarding the information obtained from his sources and its background. However, he stressed that matters between the government and journalists should be resolved in accordance with the Constitution and law rather than personal likes and dislikes.

According to Agha Obaid, no prior notice was issued to him before the action was taken, nor was he informed about the proceedings. An FIR was registered first, followed by a raid on his house, raising several questions about the legal procedure.

He said the matter did not end with the registration of the case and the raid on his house. The declaration of daily Sada-e-Olas was also cancelled through the Deputy Commissioner. According to him, the newspaper had been in publication since 2005, but no show-cause notice was issued to him before its declaration was cancelled, nor was he given an opportunity to present his position.

Agha Obaid said that, in his view, the relevant party must be served a notice and given an opportunity to explain its position before a newspaper's declaration can be cancelled. However, he said, none of these legal requirements were fulfilled in this case.

He questioned whether it was a crime for a journalist to share available information with the public. If a news report or vlog contains an error, he asked, how appropriate is it to register a case, raid a journalist's home and cancel a newspaper's declaration instead of issuing a clarification or denial?

He said the fundamental principle of journalism is to provide information to the public while also presenting the relevant party's point of view. Any objections to a journalist's work should be addressed in accordance with the Constitution, law and transparent legal procedures.