Islamabad: Islamabad's district court has handed journalist Waheed Murad over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a two-day physical remand.
Murad was booked under the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) by the FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing.
According to the FIR, on March 18, Waheed Murad shared a news report from Fact Focus, authored by journalist Ahmad Noorani, on his social media account. The report contained images of the Army Chief’s family, and Murad allegedly posted highly inflammatory comments alongside it.
The FIR further claims that Murad shared provocative content on his social media accounts, prompting the Cyber Crime Wing to take action. He was arrested from his residence in Islamabad’s G-8 sector at 2:05 AM.
Additionally, the FIR references a social media post made by Murad on March 12, without directly mentioning Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s post. In his post, Murad allegedly wrote that there is not a single inch of Balochistan left where the government can claim control. He reportedly stated that the state has completely lost the battle, there is no way back, and that previous warnings were ignored. He also criticized successive governments for what he described as the systematic genocide of the Baloch people.
Murad’s post further accused federal institutions, political parties, the judiciary, and the establishment of collectively pushing Balochistan towards destruction. He declared that the situation is now beyond everyone’s control.
Waheed Murad, who works for Urdu News and also runs the web portal Pakistan 24, was allegedly abducted by unidentified individuals from his residence on Tuesday night. Following his disappearance, a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday morning, seeking his immediate recovery and action against those responsible for his alleged abduction.
The petition, filed by Murad’s mother-in-law, Abida Nawaz, named the Secretary of Interior, Secretary of Defense, Islamabad Inspector General of Police, and SHO Karachi Company as respondents.
According to the petition, individuals dressed in black uniforms arrived at their G-8 residence at 2 AM, accompanied by two police vehicles. It alleges that these individuals forcibly took Waheed Murad and mistreated his mother-in-law. The petition also claims that the armed individuals took away her phone when they left.
A separate application was submitted to the Karachi Company police station for an FIR regarding Murad’s abduction. It stated that three vehicles carrying masked, armed men abducted him from his home at around 2 AM on Wednesday.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, the police presented Murad before Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah and requested his physical remand. The court granted a two-day remand, allowing the FIA to keep him in custody for further investigation.
