A judicial magistrate approved a two-day physical remand for senior journalist Waheed Murad on Wednesday and handed him over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Waheed Murad who was taken into custody Wednesday night from his residence where his mother-in-law was also residing was presented before Magistrate Abbas Shah’s court in Islamabad after being named in an FIA case related to spreading fake news.
During the hearing, he took the rostrum, saying: “My mother-in-law is a cancer patient and has come from Canada for treatment.” He further claimed, “I was handed over to them [FIA] just 20 minutes ago.” His defence counsel, Hadi Ali, requested access to the FIR, arguing that Murad was subjected to unlawful treatment. “Police broke into his house and even assaulted his mother-in-law,” he alleged. Another defence lawyer, Imaan Mazari, informed the court that a petition had already been filed against his alleged illegal detention.
When questioned by the judge about the time of Murad’s arrest, the FIA prosecutor confirmed that he was taken into custody last night. The prosecution argued that Murad had shared a post related to a banned organisation in Balochistan and that further investigation was required regarding his social media accounts. They also requested the recovery of his mobile phone.
Mazari questioned why a journalist’s remand was necessary, asking whether the FIA had issued any prior notice. Hadi asserted: “Journalism has become a crime in this country. Journalists are being arrested to harass them.” Murad, in his statement to the court, said he was taken at 3:00 AM, blindfolded for hours, and only had his blindfold removed 20 minutes before being presented in court.
The FIA has registered a case against him under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. The sections include 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), 20 (malicious code), and 26.
Murad’s mother-in-law filed a petition for the missing journalist’s recovery via Advocates Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha. The interior secretary, defence secretary, Islamabad inspector general of police, and the station house officer (SHO) of Karachi Company police station have been named as respondents in the plea.
According to the petition, individuals dressed in black uniforms arrived at their home in Sector G-8 at 2:00 AM, and two police vehicles were also seen accompanying them.