Journalist Bilal Ghauri handed over to cybercrime watchdog on three-day remand

A judicial magistrate in Islamabad on Monday granted the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) three-day physical remand of journalist Bilal Ghauri in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

As per the details, the case was registered on Sept 6 on behalf of the state through NCCIA Technical Assistant Muhammad Umair Warsi. The FIR invoked Section 20 of PECA, which deals with offences against the dignity of a natural person, and Section 26-A, which concerns the dissemination of false and fake information.

According to the FIR, Ghauri allegedly uploaded and disseminated content on Sept 5 concerning the appointment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) head.

The FIR said that the material allegedly contained “assertions and allegations concerning the process and circumstances relating to the appointment of the NACTA national coordinator”.

It added that an inquiry into the matter concluded that Ghauri had “intentionally created, uploaded, transmitted and disseminated the false narratives through social media platforms”.

The inquiry also found the content to be “false, misleading and presented without any lawful, factual or independently verifiable basis”.

On Monday, Ghauri appeared before Judge Malik Aman as the NCCIA sought 10 days of physical remand for further investigation. Ghauri’s lawyer, Advocate Imran Shafiq, opposed the request and said that the agency arrested his client without serving any prior notice.

Shafiq said that Ghauri uploaded the vlog in which he allegedly made the remarks on Sept 5 and that the agency arrested him the same night.

The lawyer argued that no statement in the vlog could be described as false or fabricated and questioned the prosecution’s allegation of false information. He also asked the NCCIA to identify the specific statement in the vlog that it considered false.

Ghauri told the court that his remarks did not concern an individual but focused on NACTA and the institution’s performance. Shafiq further argued that his client had only outlined the contents of a notification issued by relevant authorities.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the NCCIA’s request for a 10-day physical remand and granted the agency three days for further investigation.