KARACHI: A Karachi court on Tuesday handed television anchorperson and Pakistan Awam Raj Tehreek chief Iqrarul Hassan over to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on a four-day physical remand in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
The NCCIA produced Hassan before Judicial Magistrate Karachi East-I at the City Court. The agency had sought a 14-day physical remand for interrogation, but the court approved a four-day duration.
According to FIR No. 101/2026, registered by Inspector Muhammad Ali Khan, Hassan has been booked under Sections 9, 10, 20, 24, and 26-A of PECA 2016. The FIR alleges that he deliberately shared false, fabricated, anti-state, and defamatory content through his personal accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook to provoke the public against the state, its institutions, and officials.
The FIR further claims that his posts presented the state and its officials in a distorted manner and portrayed lawful measures as controversial to incite public reaction. It adds that the content was publicly accessible and reached audiences both in Pakistan and abroad. Assistant Director Rana Muhammad Faisal Munir is the investigating officer.
During the hearing, the magistrate asked Hassan whether he had been subjected to torture. He replied that he had not been beaten. When asked whether he had hired a lawyer, he stated that he had not yet engaged legal counsel.
According to his family, Hassan was taken from his residence in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in the early hours of Monday. His wife, Farah Iqrar, stated in a video statement that individuals in plain clothes, including a masked woman wearing an NCCIA identification tag, entered the house at around 3:00 AM after breaking open the main gate
She alleged that the men manhandled her and confiscated mobile phones, a laptop, and CCTV equipment from the residence.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari stated on Monday that the Punjab Police had not arrested Hassan and that the matter was under investigation. She added that the family would be informed once verified information became available.
Hassan hosted the investigative programme Sar-e-Aam on ARY News for many years. He resigned from the channel in April 2026 to focus on his political party, Pakistan Awam Raj Tehreek, which he launched earlier this year.
The allegations in the FIR have yet to be established in court.
