Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), in a letter to Khadga Prasad Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal has expressed concern over the arrest of Raju Basit, editor of a weekly newspaper on suspected cybercrime charges over a published news report.

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali has condemned the arrest of the editor and has called on the authorities to drop all charges and release him immediately.

According to Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), on September 10, Nepali police arrested Basit, editor-in-chief of weekly newspaper Khojtalash from his house in Godavari Municipality Lalitpur, in the Kathmandu Valley.

According to Metropolitan Police Range, Basit was detained on court orders for publishing a news report about lawmakers pressurizing to illegally sell government owned factory land. He was charged under the Electronic Transaction Act 2008.