Court accepts journalist’s plea seeking case registration against private data leak

ISLAMABAD: District and Session Court Islamabad ordered the registration of a case against the accused involved in leaking data of a senior journalist Tahir Naseer and his family, tampering with police records, and blackmailing and harassing them.

Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Shabbir heard the petition filed by the victims through his lawyer, Mian Ahmed Khan against the leaking of his private data.

The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the accused committed digital terrorism, putting the journalist and his family’s lives at risk. The court was informed that a response from the FIA Cyber Crime Cell also confirmed that the senior journalist’s data had been leaked.

The lawyer Ahmed Khan argued that the accused, in collaboration with NADRA officials, accessed and leaked the family data of senior journalist Tahir Naseer. “After leaking the data, Syed Mohsin Sultan, the owner of Mag Ventures, tampered with police records,” he told the court.

The accused also carried out digital terrorism by filing false cases at Mata Police Station Swat and others, the petitioner’s counsel said.

Khan further told the court that the copies of these cases were sent to journalist Tahir Naseer and his family, while the accused continued to threaten and blackmail them.

Following the hearing of the arguments, the court ordered the FIA Cyber Crime Cell to register a case against Syed Mohsin Sultan and Rana Fayaz and adjourned the hearing.