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A court in the federal capital approved an extension to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Raoof Hasan's physical remand, handing him over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for three more days.

The FIA has booked the PTI information secretary and several other PTI media cell members for heading a digital media cell and its alleged involvement in running anti-Pakistan propaganda.

The police had said that the "PTI digital media centre had become a centre of international disinformation, from where anti-Pakistan propaganda is run throughout the world".

Hasan and others who were arrested were produced before the court today after the completion of their two-day physical remand. 

During the hearing, the petitions of two arrested female members of the PTI Secretariat seeking bail were approved against surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

FIA's prosecutor, during the hearing today, said that social media campaigns were staged against two state institutions.

The lawyer claimed that the two women nominated in the FIR were employees of the PTI's social media cell and that granting them bail would affect the case.

"Sections of the Peca (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) imposed on both women are also important; we also have evidence against them," the prosecutor said.

In response, defence cousnel Ali Bukhari said if the federal body has evidence, then it should furnish it before the court.

The FIA prosecutor then alleged that the two women were employed for a "special purpose". Then, he asked the court to extend the physical remand of the suspects — 12, including Hasan.

The lawyer added that the social media accounts have not yet been recovered. He alleged that in return for money, people are operating WhatsApp groups and some people abroad are also involved in this act.

The prosecutor said that during the investigation, FIA officials also discovered fake accounts were being operated from the suspects' mobile phones.

The FIA prosecutor added that Hasan heads the social media team. He said that campaigns are run against the administration and judiciary, adding that the body needs more time to gather evidence as it has only one social media expert.

"The purpose of physical remand is not only recovery, remand can also be taken for investigation. We don't want to get sentences for Raoof Hasan and others, but we just want to investigate."

The case

In its FIR, the FIA stated that while probing PTI activist Ahmad Waqas Janjua, the suspect revealed that he, along with the party's leadership and media cell members were involved in alleged anti-state propaganda.

The charges against the 12 suspects — two of whom are women — include the PECA sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber-terrorism), and 11 (hate speech).

The suspects are Waqas, PTI's top leader Hasan, Afaq Ahmed Alvi, Hameedullah, Rashid Mahmood, Zeeshan Farooq, Syed Osama, Mohammad Rizwan Afzal, Mohammad Rafiq, Syed Hamza, Farhat Khalid, and Iqra.

"...by employing various tactics on social media, [these people are] trying to hurt the integrity of Pakistan as well as sabotage the law and order situation," the FIR, filed on the complaint of CTD Inspector Sajid Ikram, read.

Ikram said that Janjua told his interrogators that the media cell members, with internal and external help, also damage the country's integrity on a daily basis.

To ensure their above mentioned targets, Janjua claimed that a media cell has been established at the Islamabad office, which is headed by Hasan.

The FIR mentions that media cell members take directions from Hasan every day to make the people go up against the state and the army in a bid to create a chaotic situation.

"Fake social media accounts have been created and every day, online campaigns are launched to create an atmosphere of mutiny," it said.

The FIR alleges that the media cell runs slanderous campaigns whenever a terror incident takes place; the campaigns are to create a narrative that lives are being lost due to the policies of the government and law enforcement agencies.