A judicial magistrate in Karachi on Saturday granted investigators an additional two days of physical remand of journalist Iqrarul Hassan, who faces allegations of spreading anti-state material through social media.
The Judicial Magistrate (East) rejected an application filed by Hassan’s legal team and directed the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to submit a report at the next hearing.
The extension follows an earlier order under which Hassan was handed over to the NCCIA on a four-day physical remand.
On Thursday, the District and Sessions Court East dismissed a petition challenging that remand. Defence lawyers had questioned the legality of the proceedings, raising objections concerning the handling of the cybercrime allegations.
The case has been registered under Sections 9, 10, 20, 24 and 26-A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016.
According to the first information report (FIR), Hassan allegedly used his accounts on X, Instagram and Facebook to circulate material intended to provoke public opposition to the state and its institutions.
The complaint alleges that the journalist “through his personal social media accounts on the platforms X, Instagram and Facebook, is intentionally disseminating false, fabricated, anti-state and defamatory content with the object of instigating the general public against the state, its institutions and its functionaries.”
Investigators further claimed that his posts presented government institutions and officials “in a false and distorted manner.”
The FIR also alleged that Hassan “represented lawful measures as controversial with the intent to instigate and incite the general public at large against the state and the lawfully constituted authorities.”
Referring to the reach of his online activity, the complaint stated: “The accused instigated a substantial following, including the general public, on the aforesaid platforms.”
It added that the disputed material had been distributed “in an open, publicly accessible manner, without restriction, so as to reach and influence the public at large throughout Pakistan and abroad.”
Hassan’s wife, Farah Iqrar, previously alleged that unidentified individuals claiming to represent the NCCIA had taken her husband from their residence in Lahore’s Defence C area.
Speaking to The Express Tribune on October 12, she said approximately five to seven people, including women, arrived at the house during the night between Sunday and Monday.
According to Farah, the individuals demanded that Hassan come outside and threatened to break down the door if he did not comply.
She alleged that they subsequently entered the residence, forcibly removed Hassan from a room and took him away.
Following reports of his disappearance, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari stated that Punjab Police had not arrested the journalist.
She said authorities were investigating the matter and that Hassan’s family would be informed once reliable information about his whereabouts became available.
Hours before the reported detention, Hassan had published a post on X criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and referring to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.
The NCCIA’s allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings, and the court’s latest order concerns investigative custody rather than a determination of guilt.
Hassan is expected to be produced before the court again following the completion of the additional two-day remand.