A court on Saturday dismissed an application seeking to discharge anchorperson Iqrar-ul-Hassan in a case pertaining to the alleged dissemination of false, defamatory and anti-state content on his social media accounts. It handed over the custody of the anchorperson, who launched the Awaam Raaj Movement earlier this year, to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for two more days.

Investigating Officer Rana Muhammad Faisal produced the anchorperson before Judicial Magistrate (East) Gulraiz Memon upon the completion of his four-day physical remand and sought a 10-day extension in his custody. To a query, Iqrar did not complain of any maltreatment at the hands of the NCCIA and stated that he had been allowed to meet his family and legal counsel during his physical remand.

Defence lawyer Barrister Mian Ali Ashfaq moved an application before the magistrate, pleading to discharge Iqrar from the case. After hearing arguments from both sides, the magistrate dismissed the application.

"In offences under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, collecting digital footprints, technical data, and forensic evaluation requires reasonable time," he observed. "Discharging an accused at this initial junction when the IO is actively compiling material would prematurely stifle and hamper the investigation."

The magistrate said a preliminary review of the FIR and investigation progress indicated that specific roles and statutory sections under PECA, 2016 had been attributed to the applicant. "Assessing the truthfulness, adequacy, or admissibility of the digital evidence cannot be done at this early stage.

Veracity of allegations and inadequacy of evidence can better be evaluated at the time of the conclusion of the investigation or the final report." The magistrate ruled that the IO's plea for an extension in Iqrar's physical remand for "confronting the new IDs mentioned in the remand application from the accused is cogent; therefore, the physical custody of accused Syed Iqrar-ul-Hassan is granted for two days till October 18, 2026." The IO was directed to produce him on October 19 along with a progress report.

Earlier, the IO stated that during his physical remand in NCCIA custody, the suspect was interrogated about the role of other alleged accomplices, including content producers, editors, social media handlers, or facilitators who provided any assistance in producing, editing, or disseminating the impugned content.

He said that the digital devices recovered from him contained 1,145 GB of data, which had been handed over to the agency's forensic analysis team, adding that the forensic analysis was necessary to identify relevant applications, user profiles, social media accounts, Apple IDs, stored files, and communication regarding the impugned content.

He said that more links connected with the impugned content had also surfaced during the course of the investigation. The IO maintained that they also followed the same suit with the intent to instigate and incite the general public at large against "constitutional implementation."

"These posts are also causing panic, disorder, and provincial unrest among the general public, creating ill will and disaffection against the state, and may sabotage public tranquility and order," he said. He, therefore, pleaded with the court to grant a 10-day extension in the anchorperson's physical remand to trace the origin, financial background, and broader linkages.