ISLAMABAD: A ses-si­o­­ns court on Wednesday granted bail to journalist Shahid Aslam in data leak case.

Shahid Aslam of Bol News was arrested by the Federal Investigation Age­ncy (FIA) from Lahore last week for allegedly leaking personal tax details of the then army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in connection with a report published by an investigative news website FactFocus in November.

The story accused the former army chief and his family of amassing assets worth Rs12.7 billion in six years.

At the hearing, the journalist’s lawyer requested the court of Special Judge Mohammad Azam Khan to accept his bail application.

However, FIA prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi said the journalist had refused to cooperate with the investigation officers and did not share his mobile or laptop passwords with them.

“We have sent the electronic devices for forensics,” Mr Naqvi said.

Shahid Aslam was arrested for violating Section 216 [harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered] of the Pakistan Penal Code.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court accepted the plea and approved his bail against surety bonds worth Rs50,000.

While the report by journalist Ahmad Noorani cited tax records and wealth statements of Gen Bajwa and his family to corroborate the claims about the alleged accumulation of assets inside and outside Pakistan, Shahid Aslam has been accused of obtaining the tax records and sharing them with Ahmad Noorani.

Taking notice of the report, the finance minister said the leak was a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information under the law.

After initial investigations, the FIA arrested Shahid Aslam on January 13 from Lahore and later shifted him to Islamabad. Next day the court gave his physical remand to the FIA for two days. The journalist was later sent to jail for judicial remand.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2023