LAHORE; A sessions court in Lahore on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Falak Javed against her physical remand, upholding a magistrate’s earlier decision to hand her over to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
Additional Sessions Judge ruled that the magistrate’s order granting remand was lawful, rejecting Falak Javed’s claim that the custody order was illegal.
Her lawyer, Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, argued before the court that physical remand in such cases was excessive and generally reserved for heinous crimes like murder and armed robbery.
However, the NCCIA prosecutor maintained that investigators required custody to question the accused and carry out a forensic examination of her mobile phone. “The investigation is being conducted strictly in accordance with the law,” the prosecutor assured the court.
Falak Javed was arrested last week in Islamabad’s Sector F-10 after allegedly remaining in hiding for 16 months. Following her arrest, prosecutors sought 30 days of custody but were granted five days of physical remand by a magistrate.
She faces charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) for allegedly posting anti-state material and making derogatory remarks against Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari, who is the complainant in the case.
Falak Javed is the sister of PTI activist Sanam Javed, who has also faced several politically sensitive cases in recent months.
