The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented Raoof Hasan, the Central Information Secretary of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with other accused party workers, in the court of Judicial Magistrate Shabbir Bhatti in Islamabad after completing a two-day physical remand.
Raoof Hasan and ten other accused face charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The court granted bail to two PTI women, Iqra and Farhat, who were arrested on charges of digital terrorism, against a surety bond of Rs50,000 each. Both women were apprehended during police and FIA raids at the PTI Secretariat in Islamabad and were nominated in the FIR.
During the hearing, the FIA prosecutor informed the court that the women were employed in the PTI media cell and were involved in running campaigns against two state institutions. The prosecutor argued that granting bail could impact the case, as significant sections were applied and evidence was available, claiming the women were employed for a specific purpose in the PTI’s secretariat media cell.
In response, defense lawyer Ali Bukhari requested the court present evidence showing the roles of Farhat and Iqra in the case, questioning the material evidence related to the charges. Subsequently, the court granted post-arrest bail to the two women from the PTI media cell.
Two days prior, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah in Islamabad granted a two-day physical remand for Raoof Hasan to the FIA. The FIA’s legal team told the court that they needed to export the devices related to the social media accounts of PTI activists involved in negative activities, necessitating Hasan’s physical remand.
The FIA also presented other arrested PTI workers before the judicial magistrate and demanded their physical remand for further investigation. Yesterday, PTI central spokesman Raoof Hasan and coordinator Ahmed Waqas Janjua, along with ten other workers, were arrested from the PTI Secretariat for their involvement in anti-state propaganda.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson stated that Islamabad Police and the FIA conducted a raid on PTI’s digital media wing, confiscating computers and other equipment in light of the preliminary investigation and digital content. The spokesperson added that PTI was involved in anti-state propaganda and that a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was being formed to probe the matter.
Earlier, Islamabad Police raided the central office of the Digital Media Cell established in the PTI Secretariat, arresting central spokesperson Raoof Hasan and PTI coordinator Ahmed Waqas Janjua.
