Ex-Bureaucrat YouTuber Arrested in Pakistan for Criticizing Pak Army  

A 72-year-old former bureaucrat and YouTuber, Orya Maqbool Jan, known for his criticism of the Pakistan Army was arrested on charges of inciting religious hatred and defaming institutions, particularly the military.

Following a raid on his house in Lahore on August 22, he was placed under the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing for four days.

Maqbool is a playwright, poet, columnist, and former civil servant. He has over one million subscribers on his YouTube channel. Earlier, he was detained by Pakistani intelligence agencies for several days for his criticism of the military’s political role and posts in support of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan.

During his tenure as deputy commissioner in Balochistan, Maqbool was known for his positive portrayal of the Taliban. In 2019, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) imposed a 30-day ban on Maqbool’s show “Harf-i-Raaz” on Neo TV for making derogatory remarks about Pakhtuns and interviewing a spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban.