How selling parrots to a Pakistani journalist led to a locked bank account

Islamabad, Pakistan – Rozi Khan, a 29-year-old vertebrate seller from Karachi, was connected a concern travel to Islamabad successful April erstwhile helium discovered helium could not entree his slope account.

After completing a merchantability with a customer, helium tried to retreat wealth from an ATM, lone to beryllium met with the message: “Invalid slope account”. Alarmed, Khan took the adjacent disposable formation backmost location and rushed to talk to his slope manager.

He was shocked to observe that the account, which helium had been utilizing for his bird-selling concern for 10 years, had been unopen down connected April 10 connected the orders of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), without immoderate explanation.

Khan managed to talk to an FIA authoritative connected the telephone aft being fixed a fig to telephone by his slope manager. After asking astir Khan’s caller concern transactions, the authoritative posed a puzzling question: What was his narration with Asad Ali Toor, a writer and avid collector of uncommon parrots?

“I did not recognize the question astatine first. I merchantability birds to radical from each locomotion of beingness – lawyers, subject officers, anyone,” Khan told Al Jazeera. “I sold parrots to Asad arsenic well. Why would they suspend my relationship for dealing with a lawsuit who conscionable happens to beryllium a journalist?”

A ripple effect crossed cities

In Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha and different cities, the aforesaid question has been echoing successful the minds of different people, peculiarly vertebrate sellers, who person conducted concern with Toor and past recovered themselves locked retired of their slope accounts.

Nadeem Nasir, a 60-year-old businessman successful Lahore who has sold birds successful the past, including to Toor, discovered his relationship had been closed connected April 10 erstwhile a cheque helium wrote to an subordinate bounced.

“I person known Asad for the past 5 years and person developed bully relations with him. But the past clip helium purchased parrots from maine was successful 2023 and aboriginal 2024. Since then, determination has been nary concern transaction betwixt us,” Nasir told Al Jazeera.

Like Khan, Nasir said helium received nary notification that his relationship had been closed from either the FIA oregon the bank. When helium yet spoke to idiosyncratic astatine the FIA, he, too, was questioned astir his transportation to Toor.

“It was lone aft I managed to get successful interaction with immoderate FIA officials done my contacts that they asked maine astir my narration with Toor. That’s erstwhile I realised what had happened,” helium said.

Toor, 40, is an Islamabad-based autarkic writer and vlogger, who has earned a estimation for his outspoken opinions. He runs a fashionable YouTube transmission and is good known for his captious investigation of the government, judiciary and Pakistan’s almighty subject establishment, which has ruled the state straight for much than 3 decades and continues to wield tremendous influence.

He besides collects birds.

A writer with a passionateness for parrots

Among the galore slope accounts blocked by the FIA were those of Toor himself arsenic good arsenic of his father, mother, member and a relative who helped him tally his YouTube channel.

This wasn’t Toor’s archetypal run-in with the authorities. He has been moving his YouTube transmission for the past 5 years, attracting 335,000 subscribers portion much than 355,000 radical travel him connected X.

In 2021 portion the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) authorities was successful power, Toor was attacked by chartless radical astatine his location successful Islamabad. He said helium believed his assailants were members of the subject quality service, which has been accused by rights groups of engagement successful disappearances and extrajudicial killings successful the past. At the time, the military’s media helping did not remark aft questions astir the allegation.

In February 2024, Toor was arrested connected charges of orchestrating a “malicious campaign” against the authorities done societal media. He was released aft 18 days successful custody.

Then past week, Toor’s YouTube channel was among 27 Pakistani channels that authorities sought to suspend for “anti-state” content. Although a magistrate initially approved the suspension, a sessions tribunal reversed the bid 2 days later.

Toor’s passionateness for uncommon parrots is good known. He owns respective twelve birds and spends much than 50,000 rupees ($175) each period connected their care, a hobby helium funds done his online earnings.

“I lone recovered retired astir the relationship suspension aft my relative told maine his relationship had been frozen owed to transactions with me,” Toor told Al Jazeera.

“As I looked into it, I discovered that my ain relationship on with those of my household and adjacent my vertebrate sellers had been locked without immoderate anterior informing oregon notification from the slope oregon the FIA.”

A helper astatine Rozi Khan’s vertebrate store successful Karachi holds immoderate of his parrots. Khan has been successful the bird-selling concern for much than 10 years [Courtesy Rozi Khan]

Legal combat for access

For much than a month, Toor had nary entree to his funds and has been forced to trust connected friends for fiscal support. Finally successful May, the Islamabad High Court issued an bid successful effect to a petition helium had lodged, ordering that his slope relationship beryllium restored.

When Judge Khadim Hussain Soomro asked the FIA to warrant the freeze, the bureau submitted a one-page reply stating it needed to analyse Toor’s income, allegedly earned done “anti-state, anti-government posts” connected societal media.

The connection further claimed that the bureau was examining imaginable “traces of wealth laundering and panic funding” done “various slope channels”.

But the tribunal ruled Toor had been denied owed process, the action, therefore, was unlawful and ordered the FIA to reconstruct the journalist’s account. The slope accounts of Toor’s household members, however, stay blocked.

Zainab Janjua, Toor’s lawyer, said it took her much than a week to get her client’s relationship unblocked aft the ruling.

“The tribunal bid intelligibly stated that the accounts should beryllium unblocked immediately, but the banks refused to comply until they had received written confirmation from the FIA,” she told Al Jazeera.

Eventually, Janjua’s workfellow and Toor went to the slope and threatened contempt proceedings, aft which the relationship was unlocked.

“The slope manager was named successful our petition. We warned them that if the relationship wasn’t restored, they’d look contempt of tribunal charges. Only past did they comply,” she said.

The FIA did not respond formally to questions from Al Jazeera, but an FIA official, speaking connected information of anonymity, told Al Jazeera that the probe into Toor was indispensable owed to what helium called “unusual” fiscal activity.

“Asad Toor has spent millions of rupees connected parrots, and his lone income appears to beryllium from YouTube. Is that not strange?” the authoritative said.

He added that nether antimoney-laundering laws, the FIA is authorised to analyse immoderate fiscal dealings that look suspicious.

“Our extremity was to question these individuals, including Toor and his associates, and recognize what’s happening. That’s wherefore we froze the accounts,” helium said.

However, the authoritative declined to explicate wherefore nary anterior announcement was issued to immoderate of the affected individuals. He said those affected should constitute to the FIA aft tribunal orders to unblock their accounts if they privation them reopened.

Journalists successful the enactment of fire

Another writer known for his captious stance towards the authorities is Matiullah Jan, who is successful his 50s and besides lives successful Islamabad, wherever helium hosts a amusement connected the quality transmission Neo News and besides runs his ain YouTube channel, MJTv. He underwent a akin ordeal successful April erstwhile the accounts of his woman and sister were frozen.

Jan has antecedently been harassed and arrested connected assorted charges. Last year, helium was detained by the constabulary connected cause charges, which helium denied, earlier yet being cleared by a court. His YouTube transmission was 1 of the 27 flagged by authorities past week on with Toor’s.

Jan said determination was nary ceremonial announcement from the FIA that the accounts were being frozen.

“My sister’s relationship was restored aft my lawyer member intervened. My wife’s relationship was unblocked a period aboriginal lone aft the slope couldn’t nutrient immoderate written suspension order,” Jan told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan has seen abstraction for journalists shrinking with its quality media state ranking compiled by Reporters Without Borders sliding 5 places successful its 2025 study [Fareed Khan/AP Photo]

Waiting for justice

Nasir and Khan, the vertebrate sellers, took their lawsuit to tribunal successful Islamabad arsenic well. On July 3, a tribunal ruled successful favour of some of them and ordered their slope accounts to beryllium reopened. Nasir yet managed to get entree to his relationship connected July 5, much than 2 months aft it had been suspended.

“Thankfully, I could inactive trust connected my children for help. But my main interest was paying for my wife’s crab medication. It’s profoundly frustrating however easy the authorities tin punish idiosyncratic without mentation oregon apology,” Nasir said.

In Karachi, Khan hasn’t been arsenic fortunate. Despite the tribunal order, helium said helium inactive cannot entree his account.

He said the suspension is hurting his concern due to the fact that helium present has to trust connected his brothers to facilitate transactions. His customers, helium said, often look suspicious astir wherefore helium can’t supply details of a idiosyncratic slope account.

“The authorities wants america to spell cashless, to run digitally and past shuts our accounts without explanation. What bash I archer my customers? That doing concern with different lawsuit got my relationship frozen?” a frustrated Khan asked.

Pakistan remains 1 of the astir restrictive countries successful presumption of quality media state arsenic journalists look changeless threats to their information and livelihoods.

In its latest report, Human Rights Watch said journalists successful Pakistan “faced intimidation, harassment, and integer and carnal surveillance for perceived disapproval of the government”. In the quality media state rankings compiled by Reporters Without Borders successful May, Pakistan dropped by 5 levels from fig 152 to 158 retired of 180 countries.

Farieha Aziz, a rights activist, said journalists are progressively being targeted via ineligible tools and authorities agencies similar the FIA.

“This is astir utilizing the ineligible strategy to deterioration radical down, dragging them into courts, forcing them to prosecute lawyers. It’s thing abbreviated of ineligible harassment and a civilization of corporate punishment,” she told Al Jazeera.

Khan, who is inactive awaiting restoration of his account, said helium holds nary grudge against Toor but wants to cognize what transgression he’s being punished for.

“Does this mean if I speech to idiosyncratic the authorities doesn’t like, they tin frost my account? At slightest archer maine what I did wrong. Issue a announcement to maine if you want. But you can’t punish maine silently erstwhile I’ve done nothing,” helium said.