A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday issued a notice to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in response to a plea filed by senior journalist Waheed Murad, challenging a judicial magistrate’s decision to grant his physical remand.
Murad was arrested earlier this week under various sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) from his residence in Sector G-8, where his mother-in-law was also present. He was produced before Magistrate Abbas Shah on Wednesday and handed over to the FIA on a two-day physical remand.
At Thursday’s hearing, Murad’s counsel Advocate Imaan Mazari requested the court to nullify the remand order and place her client on judicial remand instead. In response, the judge suggested she approach the high court, but Mazari argued that there was precedent for the sessions court to hear such appeals.
The court then issued a notice to the FIA, directing the agency to submit its reply by Friday morning.
During the earlier hearing, the prosecution accused Murad of sharing content related to a banned organisation in Balochistan, claiming that further investigation and recovery of his mobile phone were necessary. The FIA registered a case against him under PECA, invoking Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), 20 (malicious code), and 26.
Separately, Murad’s mother-in-law filed a petition for his recovery, naming the interior secretary, defence secretary, Islamabad inspector general of police, and the Karachi Company SHO as respondents. The petition claims that unidentified individuals in black uniforms, accompanied by two police vehicles, forcibly entered their home at 2am and took Murad away, allegedly misbehaving with the family during the incident.
A complaint was filed at the Karachi Company police station, but no FIR has been registered so far. The petition urges the court to order Murad’s recovery and initiate legal action against those involved in what it describes as an unlawful abduction.
