A Karachi sessions court will hear anchorperson Iqrarul Hassan’s petition challenging his custody by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Thursday. His defence counsel filed the petition on Wednesday against a magistrate’s order granting the agency four days of custody.
On Tuesday, a judicial magistrate in Karachi’s East district approved the NCCIA’s request for Hassan’s custody. The case concerns allegations that he shared anti-state content on his official social media accounts.
Read more: Karachi court hands over Iqrar-ul–Hassan to NCCIA on four-day
Hassan’s lawyer, Barrister Mian Ali Ashfaq, filed the challenge before a district and sessions judge. Ashfaq told Dawn that his client was also likely to appear before the court on Thursday.
The NCCIA accused Hassan of sharing allegedly false, defamatory and anti-state material online. The case includes provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) concerning glorification of offences, cyber terrorism, cyberstalking and false information.
Hassan’s family said unidentified men, mostly dressed in plain clothes, took him from his Lahore residence early Monday. The Punjab government, however, clarified that the police had not arrested him.
Read more: Punjab Police have not arrested Iqrar-ul–Hassan, says Azma
In a video statement, Hassan’s wife, Farah Iqrar, said the men entered their Defence Housing Authority residence at around 3am. She alleged they broke open the main gate and took her husband away.
Farah also alleged that the men manhandled her and confiscated two mobile phones belonging to Hassan, a laptop and her own phone. She said a masked woman in the raiding party wore an NCCIA identification tag. The allegations have not been independently verified.