Court extends physical remand of Raoof Hasan and others by two days

ISLAMABAD: On Sunday, a court in the federal capital extended the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) custody of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Raoof Hasan and other suspects for an additional two days. They are being investigated for their alleged role in spreading anti-state propaganda.

Hasan, who was arrested by Islamabad Police on Monday, has been remanded to FIA custody for two days starting Tuesday. The court later approved a three-day extension of his physical remand along with other PTI members.

The FIA has charged Hasan and several members of PTI’s media cell for their alleged involvement in operating a digital media cell responsible for anti-Pakistan propaganda.

In its FIR, the FIA reported that during the investigation of PTI activist Ahmad Waqas Janjua, he disclosed involvement by himself, party leadership, and media cell members in alleged anti-state propaganda.

The charges against the twelve suspects—two of whom are women—include violations of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act’s sections 9 (glorification of an offense), 10 (cyber-terrorism), and 11 (hate speech).

The suspects include Waqas, PTI leader Raoof Hasan, Afaq Ahmed Alvi, Hameedullah, Rashid Mahmood, Zeeshan Farooq, Syed Osama, Mohammad Rizwan Afzal, Mohammad Rafiq, Syed Hamza, Farhat Khalid, and Iqra.

The FIR, lodged on the complaint of CTD Inspector Sajid Ikram, accuses these individuals of using social media tactics to undermine Pakistan’s integrity and disrupt law and order. Ikram stated that Janjua revealed that the media cell members, with both internal and external support, daily harm the country’s integrity.

The FIR also alleges that media cell members receive daily instructions from Hasan to incite public dissent against the state and military, aiming to create chaos.