ISLAMABAD: A local court on Saturday rejected a request from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for the physical remand of journalist Fakharur Rehman, who faces charges of spreading false information that incites hatred against government officials through social media. Instead, Civil Judge Yasir Mahmood Chaudhary ordered the journalist to be held in jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Background of the Case
On April 20, the NCCIA booked Rehman along with nine other accused, including journalists and social media activists, under Section 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person) and Section 26-A (dissemination of false and fake information) of the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). The charges involve spreading “false and misleading information against state institutions” and government functionaries through the social media platform X.
Court Proceedings
After the NCCIA produced Rehman before the court, defense counsel Ahad Khokhar argued that the prosecution failed to clearly establish the nature of Rehman’s alleged role. He noted that the accused had merely shared a statement made by a religious scholar on X and had not expressed any personal opinion. The defense further questioned why no action had been taken against the original speaker. Khokhar opposed the physical remand request, pointing out that the journalist’s mobile phone had already been taken into custody and no further recovery was pending. He requested the court to discharge the accused from the case.
On the other hand, the NCCIA prosecutor argued that Rehman had admitted ownership of the social media post but had not provided the password to his mobile phone. The agency sought 30 days of physical remand for the accused to obtain the password. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the request for physical remand and sent Rehman to judicial remand.
Details of the FIR
The First Information Report (FIR) states that Rehman, along with journalist Sabir Shakir, anchorperson Moeed Pirzada, PTI’s Jibran Ilyas, Rizwan Ahmed Khan, Syed Haider Raza Mehdi, Adil Farooq Raja, and Aqil Hussain, allegedly “with malafide intention and ulterior motives knowingly disseminated/propagated fake, false, misleading and misinterpreted information leading to hatred against the government functionaries.”
