ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate on Monday ap­­proved a three-day physical remand of a man arrested for allegedly promoting the banned Balochistan Libera­tion Army (BLA) narrative on social media.

Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah granted the remand of the accused, Zafar Iqbal, after he was produced before the court by officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation (NCCI).

During the proceedings, NCCI officials requested an 11-day physical remand, stating that multiple social media accounts linked to the accused needed to be recovered and forensically examined as part of the ongoing investigation.

The investigators told the court that the accused had been involved in spre­ading false propaganda against state institutions and was allegedly attem­pting to incite and provoke the public through content shared on his social media platforms.

They argued that further custody was necessary to extract digital evidence, recover online data, and trace the network or individuals potentially associated with the dissemination of the alleged material.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court partially accepted the investigation agency’s request and approved a three-day physical remand instead of the 11 days sought, directing the authorities to complete the necessary investigative steps within the granted timeframe.

The court also instructed the investigation team to ensure that the accused was treated in accordance with the law and produced again upon completion of the remand period.

According to officials, the NCCI has formally registered a case against Zafar Iqbal under relevant sections of the law pertaining to cybercrime, the dissemination of unlawful content, and actions deemed harmful to national security.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2026