A local court in Islamabad has extended the physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Raoof Hasan by two days in a case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency.

Last week, Hasan was arrested from the party’s central secretariat in Islamabad by the federal capital police. The FIA’s cybercrime wing booked Hasan and 11 others under Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism) and 11 (electronic forgery) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca).

The FIA presented Hasan before Duty Judge Mureed Abbas. Hasan and other suspects were brought before the court today after their three-day physical remand expired. A case has been registered against them under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Separately, Syeda Arooba, a PTI social media activist, was also presented before the court for physical remand. Arooba was arrested by the FIA yesterday.

PTI lawyer Ali Bukhari was also present in court. The FIA requested an eight-day physical remand for Hasan and the other suspects.

During the hearing, the FIA prosecutor informed the court that transcripts of anti-state videos had been added to the record and that forensic analysis was required. They requested an eight-day remand for further recovery. The prosecutor also stated that they could obtain a 30-day remand under PECA, emphasizing the need for the suspects’ custody to conduct the inquiry.

Judge Mureed Abbas inquired about the existence of a visa or ticket for Hasan from India. The FIA prosecutor confirmed that a travel ticket from India was found for Hasan.

The judge asked Hasan if he had ever travelled to India. Hasan responded by stating that he runs a regional think tank.

The judge further questioned Raoof Hasan about a chat with an individual named Rahul, asking if he acknowledged it. Hasan explained that Rahul resides in the UK and had invited him to Bahrain as a guest speaker in December 2023. He added that he is a senior fellow at King’s College London and his responsibility involves dealing with electronic media, stating that he has no connection with social media and does not manage any social media handles.

Later, Hasan’s lawyer, Ali Bukhari, began his arguments, stating that he would first address the issue of the workers. The FIA prosecutor responded that all the workers were connected to Azhar Mashwani and Hasan, including Aafak, Zeeshan, Rashid, and Osama.

Ali Bukhari continued his arguments, mentioning the arrest of a woman the previous day. The FIA prosecutor stated that Arooba was handling PTI’s X account and had not yet surrendered the accounts.

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Ali Bukhari argued that the woman was a worker handling PTI’s social media accounts and that her arrest from a hostel was against the law. He suggested that the FIA could have served Arooba with a notice.

The prosecutor informed the court that arrest was possible under the new amendments to PECA. Ali Bukhari further argued that the entire case revolved around mobile phones, which were already in the FIA’s possession. He requested the release of the suspects as the phones were in the FIA’s custody. He added that if anything emerged, the courts were available. He also cited an Islamabad High Court decision regarding the return of mobile phones and laptops.

Ali Bukhari requested the discharge of Hasan and other arrested individuals from the case.