ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate in Islamabad on Monday granted the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) three-day physical remand of journalist Bilal Ghauri in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

According to the first information report, seen by Dawn, the case was registered on Sept 6 on the state’s behalf through NCCIA Technical Assistant Muhammad Umair Warsi under Section 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person) and 26-A (dissemination of false and fake information) of Peca.

The FIR stated that Ghauri allegedly uploaded and disseminated content concerning the appointment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s (Nacta) head on Sept 5.

“Prima facie, the material allegedly contained assertions and allegations concerning the process and circumstances relating to the appointment of the Nacta national coordinator,” the FIR stated.

It said an inquiry into the matter concluded that Ghauri had “intentionally created, uploaded, transmitted and disseminated the false narratives through social media platforms”.

The inquiry also found that the content was “false, misleading and presented without any lawful, factual or independently verifiable basis”, the FIR added.

On Monday, Ghauri was produced before Judge Malik Aman, where the NCCIA sought his 10-day remand.

Ghauri’s lawyer, Advocate Imran Shafiq, opposed the agency’s request and maintained that his client was arrested without being served any prior notice.

He added that the vlog in which Ghauri was said to have made the remarks in question was uploaded on Sept 5, and that he was arrested the same night. He argued that there was not a single statement in the entire vlog that could be termed false or fabricated.

Ghauri, too, contended that his remarks were not about an individual, but were about Nacta and the institution’s performance.

Advocate Shafiq further argued that Ghauri had merely outlined the contents of a notification issued by the relevant authorities.

The counsel questioned the prosecution’s allegation of false information and asked the NCCIA to identify exactly which statement in the vlog was false.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the NCCIA’s request for 10-day physical remand and instead handed Ghauri over to the agency on three-day remand for further investigation.