PTI Leader Raoof Hasan Sent on 14-Day Judicial Remand in Anti-State Propaganda Case

A court in the federal capital has sent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Raoof Hasan and other suspects in the anti-state propaganda case on a 14-day judicial remand.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had presented Hasan before District and Sessions Judge Shafiq Bhatti, who rejected the agency’s request for a further five-day physical remand. Hasan, who was arrested last Monday, was handed over to the FIA on a two-day remand on Tuesday. The court later approved a three-day extension to his physical remand and then a two-day remand for further investigation.

In today’s hearing, the FIA’s prosecutor said that the agency had received a “technical report” showing that all the suspects — members of the PTI’s media cell — were in contact with one another.

“We need a further five-day remand to investigate,” the prosecutor said, to which defense counsel Ali Zafar opposed granting the FIA a further extension in the physical remand. Zafar, a top PTI leader and senior lawyer, informed the court that Hasan had been on physical remand for seven days and his health was deteriorating. The court then ordered the authorities to ensure that Hasan received medical attention.

In the previous hearing, Hasan had informed the court that the allegations leveled against him were “baseless.”

PTI’s information secretary, along with several other PTI media cell members, has been booked by the FIA regarding their involvement in a digital media cell and its alleged involvement in running anti-Pakistan propaganda.

In its FIR, the FIA stated that while probing PTI activist Ahmad Waqas Janjua, the suspect revealed that he, along with the party’s leadership and media cell members, were involved in alleged anti-state propaganda.

The charges against the 12 suspects — two of whom are women — include sections 9 (glorification of an offense), 10 (cyber-terrorism), and 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).