Pakistan, March 21 -- A Karachi court has handed journalist Farhan Mallick into the custody of the Federal Investigation (FIA) for four days. Mallick, the founder of media Raftar, is accused of airing "anti-state" content on his YouTube channel. The FIA claims that he spread fake news that caused unrest and targeted public figures. Mallick was arrested after FIA officials visited Raftar's office, allegedly harassing staff before summoning him for questioning.

Mallick faces several charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, including tampering with communication equipment and spreading malicious content. Specifically, Section 26-A of PECA, added recently, criminalizes the dissemination of fake news that could cause...