HYDERABAD: A Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed chairman of UC-115 Latifabad, who was arrested by Cyber Crime wing of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday on charges of posting anti-state content on social media, was released on Monday on local court’s order.

The UC chairman Shakeeb Qaimkhani was booked in FIA’s FIR under Section 11 of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, read with Sections 500, 505 PPC on a complaint lodged by Tahir Ahmed Shahbaz, technical assistant of the Cyber Crime wing.

The complainant said that the FIR was being lodged against the accused over anti-state propaganda on social media through a Facebook account. After obtaining record, the case was lodged against Qaimkhani and he was picked up from Latifabad on Saturday. FIA obtained his remand for one day on Sunday, according to Qaimkhani’s counsel,

Faisal Mughal.

A statement issued by local chapter of the PTI said that legal assistance was being provided to Qaimkhani on the directives of PTI’s MPA and district president Rehan Rajput.

Faisal Mughal, who is also PTI Hyderabad division president, represented Qaimkhani when he was produced before Judicial Magistrate-XII who discharged the accused on the basis of weak evidence.

Mughal filed an application under Section 63 of Cr.PC to argue that case was not made out against his client therefore the accused be discharged. He confirmed that the accused had been released under a short order on Monday while the court would pass a detailed order later on.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2024