Islamabad, July 31: Raoof Hasan , leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and 10 other suspects have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody for launching “anti-state propaganda” on social media, media reports said on Wednesday.
According to a report in English Daily Dawn on Tuesday, an Islamabad-based district and sessions court sent PTI spokesperson and nine others to 14-day judicial custody in a case of “anti-state digital campaign”. Last week, Islamabad police and the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) raided the party’s central office in an alleged case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA). Hasan was arrested in the raid. Hasan’s arrest came after the interior ministry claimed PTI’s involvement in “anti-state propaganda”, the report said. The government earlier formed a joint investigation committee for investigation against those who were allegedly creating chaos by running malicious social media campaigns against it. The investigation officer (IO) told the court that Hasan travelled abroad and that his visa was sponsored by an Indian named Rahul. Hasan refuted the allegations, saying he runs a think tank and Rahul, a resident of the United Kingdom, invited him as a guest speaker for an event in Bahrain, the report said. Nine PTI members were taken into custody on July 22, and Liaquat Ali was arrested on July 24. They were presented in court before a judicial magistrate. According to media, Ali Bhukhari and Ali Zafar appeared as PTI counsels, and Shaikh Amir represented the FIA. FIA counsel submitted the technical report, proving that all the suspects were in touch with each other. Zafar requested the court for Hasan’s medical checkup as he was in custody since last week. The judge rejected the prosecution’s request for five days of remand and sent all the accused to 14 days of judicial custody. The judge also ordered Hasan’s medical examination at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) as the PTI leader had complained of severe heart ache, Dawn reports said. In the official copy of the order available at Dawn.com, Judge Shabbir said, none of the suspects complained about the maltreatment by the investigating officer. Further, the IO did not request the physical remand of the accused. The judge asserted that there was no convincing ground to grant bail to the accused. The next date for hearings is August 13, the report said.
(UNI)
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