KARACHI (Web Desk) – Television anchorperson Iqrarul Hassan has challenged a judicial magistrate’s order granting the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) four-day custody of him in a case involving alleged dissemination of anti-state content.
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Hassan’s defence counsel, Barrister Mian Ali Ashfaq, filed a petition before a district and sessions judge (East) on Wednesday, challenging the magistrate’s order. The petition has been fixed for hearing on Thursday, according to a report published by Dawn.
Ashfaq told Dawn that Hassan was also likely to be produced before the court during the proceedings.
On Tuesday, a judicial magistrate in Karachi’s East district granted the NCCIA four-day custody of the anchorperson in connection with allegations of sharing anti-state content through social media.
According to the NCCIA, Hassan was arrested over allegations of disseminating anti-state, false and defamatory content through his official social media accounts. The allegations have not been established by a court.
The case was registered under Sections 9, 10, 24 and 26A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), relating to the glorification of an offence, cyber terrorism, cyberstalking, and the dissemination of false and fake information, respectively.
Hassan has previously criticised government policies on social media.
Family alleges he was taken from Lahore residence
Hassan’s family has alleged that he was taken away from his Lahore residence by men in plainclothes in the early hours of Monday.
In a video statement, his wife, Farah Iqrar, said they were at their home in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) when a group of individuals allegedly broke open the main gate and entered the premises at around 3am.
She alleged that the individuals took her husband away and manhandled her during the incident. According to her account, the group also confiscated two mobile phones belonging to Hassan, a laptop and her own mobile phone.
Farah further claimed that a masked woman among the group was wearing an NCCIA identification tag.
The Punjab government had said that the police had not arrested Hassan, according to earlier media reports.
The custody proceedings and the petition challenging the magistrate’s order are now before the relevant courts. The outcome of the legal challenge and the court’s findings on the allegations remain pending.
