PTI's Raoof Hasan's physical remand extended for additional two days

Raoof clarifies his responsibilities are limited to electronic media and not social media

Islamabad's district and session court on Sunday handed over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesperson Raoof Hassan and others to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for a two-day physical remand and PTI's Facebook head Syeda Arooba to judicial remand before Duty Judge Mureed Abbas under the PECA Act.

The FIA prosecutor stated that transcripts of anti-state videos were attached to the record and required forensic analysis, requesting an additional eight days of physical remand.

Judge Mureed Abbas inquired whether Raoof had received a visa or ticket from India and if he admitted to chatting with someone named Rahul. The FIA prosecutor confirmed that Raoof had a travel ticket from India.

However, Raoof explained that he runs a regional think tank and that Rahul, who lives in the UK, invited him to Bahrain as a guest speaker. He mentioned being a senior fellow at King’s College London and clarified that his responsibilities involve dealing with electronic media, not social media.

The FIA prosecutor revealed that Arooba handles PTI's X account and has not yet surrendered the accounts. PTI's lawyer argued that Arooba is an employee managing PTI’s social media accounts, and the entire case hinges on mobile phones, all of which are with the FIA.

Advocate Ali Bukhari requested the discharge of Rauf Hassan and others from the case. After hearing the arguments, the court sent Raoof Hasan on two days physical remand.