LAHORE: Anchor­per­son and former bureaucrat Orya Maqbool Jan, who is accused of hate speech against the country’s top judge, was rem­a­nded in the custody of the Federal Investigation Ag­­ency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing for four days, on Thursday.

The FIA presented Mr Jan, known for his right-wing views and misogynistic remarks, before a judicial magistrate at district courts for his first remand.

The investigating offi­cer requested the court to aut­h­orise a 14-day physical re­­mand to facilitate the reco­very of evidence and to complete the investigation.

However, Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, representing Mr Jan, opposed the request, arguing that his client was innocent. He asserted that no incriminating evidence was available on record and appealed for Mr Jan’s discharge from the case.

The investigating offic­­er, along with the FIA’s assistant director of legal affairs, countered the arg­uments, insisting on the necessity of a physical remand.

In his order, Judicial Magistrate Imran Abid observed that the suspect had been assigned a specific role in the case. He said the record showed that all the tweets and digital media evidence were available with the file.

The magistrate noted that sufficient incriminating material existed to connect the suspect to the alleged offences. He also emphasised that the purpose of the remand was to further investigate the suspect and gather evidence.

“It is the first physical remand of the accused, and sufficient incriminating material does exist on record. Hence, to complete the investigation as well as for the purpose of recovery, a four-day physical remand of the accused is hereby granted,” the order issued by the magistrate said.

The magistrate directed the investigating officer to complete the investigation and produce the suspect in court again on Aug 26.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024