'Pakistani journo arrested for not having valid pass before deportation'

 

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed that Pakistani journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah was arrested for not having a valid pass to enter Malaysia before he was deported back to his home country last August.

“The subject, who is a Pakistani citizen was arrested for committing an offence under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act.

“It provides that no one other than a citizen can enter Malaysia unless they have a valid pass issued legitimately to the person for entering Malaysia.

“The subject was deported to his country of origin on Aug 25, 2022, via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport,” Saifuddin (above) said in a written parliamentary reply.

He was responding to a question from Jelutong MP RSN Rayer who asked why Syed Fawad was deported even though his presence in Malaysia did not cause any threat to peace and harmony.

Previously, Saifuddin said Syed Fawad, 41, was a refugee in Malaysia prior to his deportation at the request of the Pakistani government.

Syed Fawad Ali Shah

“Syed Fawad is a Pakistani national who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. His presence here caught the attention of the Pakistani government and they requested his repatriation.

“This request was done through the previous government (under former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob), not the current one,” Saifuddin said in January this year.

Syed Fawad’s wife, who’s only known as Syeda, subsequently filed a habeas corpus application on behalf of her husband at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

She sought, among others, for the court to declare that the police and Immigration Department had acted wrongly and violated the law in deporting the journalist.

Prior to his deportation, Syed Fawad, who is renowned for probing government corruption and missing persons via several English dailies in his home country, had spent a decade in exile in Malaysia.

Last year, Syeda pleaded for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s help to locate her missing husband.

It was reported in March this year that Syed Fawad was found alive in a prison in Pakistan. - Mkini