PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan was released from Adiala Jail on Tuesday night after an anti-terrorism court granted him bail in connection with a case pertaining to alleged recovery of explosives.
Hasan was arrested on July 22 in a case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca).
His arrest had come the same day as the interior ministry claimed the PTI was involved in “anti-state propaganda”. The government then formed a joint investigation committee (JIT) last week to probe those creating “chaos and disorder” in the country through “malicious social media campaigns”.
In the social media case, Hasan was remanded into the FIA’s custody for a total of seven days — an initial two-day physical remand, followed by a three-day and a two-day extension for further investigation.
After being sent on a 14-day judicial remand, Hasan was reportedly shifted to Adiala Jail on July 31 but was arrested in a terrorism case the same day, according to The News.
His arrest was made in a case pertaining to the alleged possession of weapons and explosives, which did not name him directly but was the same in which PTI’s international media coordinator Ahmed Janjua had been taken into custody.
While an Islamabad court granted Hasan and eight others bail in the social media case on August 1, he had already been handed over to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on a two-day physical remand on July 31.
The remand was extended by a day on August 2, following which the PTI leader was produced before an Islamabad ATC on Saturday which sent him on a 14-day judicial remand.
More to follow.
