The legal proceedings followed a period of uncertainty regarding the journalist’s whereabouts and custody status. On Monday, October 12, reports emerged that the NCCIA denied holding Iqrar-ul-Hassan when the matter was raised before a judicial magistrate in Lahore. By the following day, the agency produced him before the Karachi court, resolving the immediate ambiguity over which authority had him in their possession. The court’s order permits the agency to continue its investigation in custody; it does not constitute a finding of guilt or a formal conviction.
The case stems from an First Information Report (FIR) registered on October 10. Prosecutors allege that Iqrar-ul-Hassan circulated false and defamatory content on social media platforms, specifically X, Instagram, and Facebook. The NCCIA claims this material was intended to turn public opinion against the state, its institutions, and officials. The FIR invokes Sections 9, 10, 20, 24, and 26-A of PECA. Investigators state they have examined publicly accessible posts and preserved the disputed material as evidence. These remain allegations within the framework of the investigation and have not been adjudicated by a court.
The circumstances of Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s detention drew public attention after his wife, Farah Iqrar, alleged that he was removed from the family’s home in Lahore’s DHA Phase 8 during the early hours of Monday. She stated that individuals in plain clothes, accompanied by female personnel wearing NCCIA armbands, broke down the ground-floor door at approximately 3:00 a.m. to take him into custody. Farah Iqrar further alleged that the group seized mobile phones, a laptop, a digital video recorder, and CCTV footage from the residence. His first wife, Qurat-ul-Ain Iqrar, also expressed concern in a video message, appealing to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for assistance. Colleague and former co-anchor Waseem Badami confirmed receiving information about the arrest and the presence of female officials in plain clothes.
During the Tuesday hearing in Karachi, the magistrate inquired whether Iqrar-ul-Hassan had been subjected to violence while in custody. He replied that he had not been beaten. When asked whether he had engaged legal representation, he stated that he had not yet hired a lawyer. Prior to this hearing, his lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq had raised the issue of his client’s custody before a magistrate in Lahore, a step that preceded the NCCIA’s production of the accused in Karachi.
The discrepancy between the agency’s earlier denial of custody in Lahore and its subsequent production of Iqrar-ul-Hassan in Karachi remains a notable gap in the publicly reported sequence of events. The four-day remand allows the NCCIA time to complete its preliminary inquiries under the PECA provisions. The next formal step in the legal process will depend on the outcome of this remand period, potentially leading to a formal charge sheet, release, or further judicial review depending on the evidence gathered by the investigators.
