PTI information secretary remanded in FIA custody

ISLAMABAD: Duty Judge Abbas Shah Tuesday approved a two-day physical remand of the PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan following a request from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The FIA sought a 10-day remand. However, the judge granted a two-day physical remand of the accused and directed his production in the court on Thursday (tomorrow).

The police arrested Raoof Hasan during a raid on the PTI Secretariat on Monday, seizing a computer and other items.

According to sources, authorities allege that the digital media cell at the PTI’s office had become a hub for international disinformation, where anti-Pakistan propaganda was being carried out in collaboration with the enemy agencies.

However, the PTI condemned the raid, accusing the law enforcers of seizing the MNAs and MPAs’ affidavits which stand crucial for verifying the party affiliations and could significantly impact the National Assembly’s composition.

Hasan, along with other PTI members, was presented in the court of Abbas Shah. The prosecutor argued that the remand was necessary to recover devices used for social media accounts, which were crucial for further investigation.

PTI lawyer Latif Khosa argued that Hasan had no connection with the digital media wing and that it was unjust to label them as traitors.

The court handed Hasan and 10 other male detainees over to the FIA for a 2-day physical remand, while ordering judicial remand for the arrested women, sending them to the Adiala jail.