On Thursday, a Lahore district court granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a four-day physical remand of anchorperson Orya Maqbool Jan in connection with his social media posts related to the Mubarak Sani case.
Jan was arrested earlier in the day by the FIA’s cybercrime wing and detained at its Gulberg office in Lahore. His lawyer confirmed the arrest, stating that Jan would be presented in court later in the day.
During the court proceedings, the FIA requested a 14-day physical remand for Jan. However, Jan’s lawyer, Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, argued that his client had not insulted anyone and that the FIA’s case was based on false and baseless claims without evidence. He urged the court to discharge Jan from the case.
In response, the FIA’s investigation officer (IO) asserted that the allegations against Jan were substantiated and that the anchorperson was not cooperating with the investigation, adding that they had “concrete evidence.”
Jan, after being brought to the rostrum, stated that he had already provided the FIA with the passwords to his social media accounts, questioning the necessity of a physical remand.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judicial Magistrate Imran Abid approved a four-day remand and instructed the IO to present an investigation report.
The case stems from a February 6 Supreme Court ruling, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, which overturned the conviction of Mubarak Sani, a defendant accused under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act of 2019. The court found that the offense Sani was charged with was not criminalized until 2021, leading to his release. This ruling has since sparked significant controversy, including protests and objections from various groups.
