ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate on Monday granted post-arrest bail to senior journalist Fakharur Rehman, who was arrested over the weekend by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

According to an NCCIA first information report (FIR) dated April 20, the journalist was one of nine accused of spreading “false and misleading information against state institutions” through the social media platform X.

The NCCIA had registered the FIR under Section 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person) and Section 26-A (dissemination of false and fake information) of Peca.

During the hearing on Monday, Barrister Ahad Khokhar appeared on behalf of the journalist and argued that, according to the NCCIA report, his client’s mobile phone had already been recovered.

He contended that Rehman was a senior citizen who took regular medication. He said that his client had not expressed any personal opinion and had merely shared a statement attributed to a religious figure.

The defence further pointed out that even the first information report (FIR) did not clearly specify the role of the accused, terming the case “baseless” and requesting the court to grant the journalist bail.

On the other hand, the prosecution opposed the bail plea, arguing that journalism was a sacred profession that came with great responsibility.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its verdict and later approved the post-arrest bail application, directing Rehman to submit surety bonds worth Rs50,000.

The FIR registered by the NCCIA stated that Rehman, journalist Sabir Shakir, an­­chorperson Moeed Pirzada, PTI’s Jibran Ilyas, Rizwan Ahmed Khan, Syed Haider Raza Mehdi, Adil Farooq Raja and Aqil Hussain had allegedly “with mala fide intention and ulterior motives knowingly disseminated/propagated fake, false, misleading and misinterpreted information leading to hatred against government functionaries”.

It contended that such content was “likely to cause fear, panic, unrest and disorder among the general public and in society”.

The complaint added that a review of the nominated individuals’ social media activities revealed a “deliberate pattern of conduct involving mocking, ridiculing and maligning state institutions”.