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🇵🇰 Pakistan /Crime & Justice

NCCIA secures three-day physical remand of journalist Bilal Ghauri in Peca case

From Dawn · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Documents & data In the courts
  • An Islamabad magistrate granted the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency three-day physical remand of journalist Bilal Ghauri in a case under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
  • The case concerns social media content about the appointment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s head, which investigators allege contained false information.
  • Ghauri’s lawyer opposed the agency’s request for 10 days, arguing that Ghauri received no prior notice and that his vlog contained no false or fabricated statement.

An Islamabad court has granted Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency three days to hold journalist Bilal Ghauri for further investigation in a case brought under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, or Peca.

Prima facie, the material allegedly contained assertions and allegations concerning the process and circumstances relating to the appointment of the Nacta national coordinator.

· National Cyber Crime Investigation AgencyThe wording appears in the first information report describing the content at issue.

A judicial magistrate rejected the agency’s request for a 10-day remand and instead ordered three days of physical custody. The case was registered on September 6 on behalf of the state through NCCIA technical assistant Muhammad Umair Warsi. It invokes Section 20, concerning offences against the dignity of a natural person, and Section 26-A, concerning the dissemination of false and fake information.

According to the first information report reviewed by Dawn, Ghauri allegedly uploaded and disseminated content on September 5 about the appointment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s national coordinator. The FIR said an inquiry found that he had “intentionally created, uploaded, transmitted and disseminated the false narratives through social media platforms.” It described the material as “false, misleading and presented without any lawful, factual or independently verifiable basis.”

intentionally created, uploaded, transmitted and disseminated the false narratives through social media platforms

· National Cyber Crime Investigation AgencyThe FIR quoted the inquiry’s allegation against Ghauri.

Ghauri was brought before Judge Malik Aman on Monday. His lawyer, Advocate Imran Shafiq, opposed the requested remand, saying Ghauri had been arrested the same night his vlog was uploaded without receiving prior notice. Shafiq argued that no statement in the vlog could be considered false or fabricated and asked the agency to identify the specific statement it disputed.

false, misleading and presented without any lawful, factual or independently verifiable basis

· National Cyber Crime Investigation AgencyThe inquiry’s characterization of the disputed content, as recorded in the FIR.

Ghauri said his remarks concerned Nacta and the institution’s performance, rather than an individual. His lawyer also said the journalist had only outlined the contents of a notification issued by the relevant authorities. After hearing both sides, the court approved the shorter remand for further investigation.

There was not a single statement in the entire vlog that could be termed false or fabricated.

· Imran ShafiqGhauri’s lawyer argued against the agency’s request for a 10-day physical remand.
About this summary

Originally published by Dawn in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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