Islamabad (Web Desk): A local court in Islamabad on Thursday granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) information Secretary Raoof Hassan and others in anti-state propaganda case.
Duty Magistrate Abbas Shah, a judge of the special court recently formed to hear cases filed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act, 2016, issued the verdict.
During the hearing, defence counsel Ali Bukhari said that the agency's case against the suspects bases on just one person, Waqas Janjua's statement.
"Three women have already recieved bail; nine others are awaiting an order. The suspects are salaried employees who have nothing to do with Raoof Hasan," he told the court.
They work as watchmen, gardner, messenger at the PTI Secretariat, but they are behind bars for so many days. Let's leave Hasan's issue for now, but what have these salaried people done, he questioned.
He asserted that the accusations were baseless and politically motivated.
Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Prosecutor Amir Sheikh maintained that the accused were part of a network involving over 100 WhatsApp groups used to incite unrest.
He presented transcripts of tweets and alleged that Hasan was a key figure in propagating these narratives, including communication with Indian agencies.
Following thew arguments from both sides, the court granted bail to Raoof and nine other suspects against bail bonds worth Rs50,000.
However, The PTI leader cannot be released from the jai today as an anti-terrorism court had on Wednesday handed him over to the counter-terrorism department (CTD) in a terrorism case for two days and the remand ends on Friday.
Hasan, who was arrested last Monday, was initially placed on a two-day remand, followed by a three-day extension, and then another two-day remand for further investigation.
The FIA had booked PTI’s information secretary and several media cell members for their alleged involvement in a digital media cell accused of running anti-Pakistan propaganda.
The FIR, filed by the FIA, claimed that PTI activist Ahmad Waqas Janjua revealed during questioning that he, along with the party’s leadership and media cell members, were involved in anti-state activities.
The charges against the 12 suspects including two women, fall under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber-terrorism), and 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).