A court in the federal capital has granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Raoof Hasan in the anti-state propaganda case, but his release is delayed.
Duty Magistrate Abbas Shah, presiding over the special court formed to handle cases under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act, 2016, announced the decision on Thursday.
Despite securing bail, Hasan will remain in custody as an anti-terrorism court had previously remanded him to the counter-terrorism department for two days in a separate terrorism case. This remand ends tomorrow.
Bail was granted to Hasan and nine other suspects, each against bail bonds of Rs50,000. The PTI information secretary and the others were arrested by Islamabad Police on July 22 and subsequently handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
During the hearing, the defense counsel argued that the case against the suspects was based solely on the statement of one individual, Waqas Janjua.
“Three women have already been granted bail; nine others await the court’s order. These suspects are salaried employees who have no connection with Raoof Hasan,” the defense counsel stated.
“They work as watchmen, gardeners, and messengers at the PTI Secretariat, yet they have been detained for so many days. Let’s set aside Hasan’s case for now, but what have these salaried individuals done?” the counsel questioned.
“What constitutes the state? According to the law and the constitution, the people are the state,” he concluded, after which the court reserved and shortly announced its verdict.
The Case
The FIA’s FIR states that during the interrogation of PTI activist Ahmad Waqas Janjua, he disclosed involvement in alleged anti-state propaganda along with the party’s leadership and media cell members.
The charges against the 12 suspects — including two women — invoke sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber-terrorism), and 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
The suspects named are Waqas, PTI’s top leader Hasan, Afaq Ahmed Alvi, Hameedullah, Rashid Mahmood, Zeeshan Farooq, Syed Osama, Mohammad Rizwan Afzal, Mohammad Rafiq, Syed Hamza, Farhat Khalid, and Iqra.
“…by employing various tactics on social media, [these individuals] are trying to harm Pakistan’s integrity and disrupt law and order,” the FIR, filed on the complaint of CTD Inspector Sajid Ikram, states.
Ikram reported that Janjua informed his interrogators that the media cell members, with both internal and external assistance, daily compromise the country’s integrity.
To achieve these aims, Janjua claimed a media cell has been established at the Islamabad office, headed by Hasan.
The FIR alleges that media cell members receive daily directives from Hasan to incite the public against the state and the army, creating chaos.
“Fake social media accounts have been created, and daily online campaigns are launched to foster an atmosphere of rebellion,” it states.
The FIR further accuses the media cell of launching slanderous campaigns following terror incidents, promoting a narrative that lives are lost due to the policies of the government and law enforcement agencies.
