KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Saturday extended the physical remand of anchor Iqrarul Hassan for two more days in a case pertaining to alleged dissemination of anti-state content on social media.

After the end of his four-day physical remand, the investigating officer (IO) brought the anchor before the magistrate and sought 10-day extension in his custody for further questioning.

The IO, who is an official of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), submitted that the investigation had progressed during the period of his first remand, but several material and vital aspects of the case were yet to be investigated.

He stated that the digital devices of the suspect had been handed over to a forensic team for analysis, but it was humanly not possible to analyse such a huge data.

However, the defence lawyer moved an application seeking discharge of the suspect under Section 63 of the criminal procedure code.

The IO strongly opposed the application and stated that the investigation was at a critical stage.

Judicial Magistrate (East) Gulraiz Memon in his order observed that the NCCIA, being a federal agency, had jurisdiction over the entire country and it did not require interprovincial permissions from the home departments of the respective provinces to carry out arrest of any individual.

He stated that the IO had produced police entries showing that the suspect was arrested in Lahore on Oct 12 and a permission was sought from the area magistrate a day earlier.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2026