PHC refuses bail in unregistered SIMs case

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday refused bail to an accused, who had been arrested and charged for selling unregistered SIM cards through an illegal gateway.
A single bench of Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth dismissed the bail petition of an accused Muhammad Asif, a resident of Tajabad village in Peshawar.The bench announced the decision after hearing lawyer of the accused and law officer who defended the arrest.
The petitioner’s lawyer submitted before the bench that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested his client on November 25, 2014.He was charged under Section 31 of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and sections 36 and 37 of Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002 after recovery of 121 unregistered SIMs, computer and a laptop.
He submitted that his client was charged in sections of law, under which maximum sentence is seven years, which is bailable and requested the court to release him on bail.Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Kifayatullah Khan opposed the release of the accused on bail. He informed the bench that sale of unregistered SIMs was a very dangerous crime as these were used in bomb blasts, extortions and other crimes.
The DAG stated that the FIA officials recovered the unregistered SIMs operating through an illegal gateway, which also caused loss to the exchequer. He said that in such a sensitive situation, the court should not give any relief to such accused.