Islamabad court grants bail to journalist Waheed Murad

The District and Sessions Court in Islamabad on Friday granted bail to journalist Waheed Murad who had been arrested in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Murad was presented in court on today after completing a two-day physical remand, Express News reported.

Officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) produced him before Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah, who ordered that Murad be sent to jail on judicial remand after the hearing.

 

During the hearing, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah inquired about the material recovered by the FIA, to which Waheed Murad’s lawyer, Iman Mazari, stated that Murad had merely quoted the words of Akhtar Mengal in a social media post.

Another lawyer, Hadi Ali Chatha, further clarified that Murad’s first tweet was based on Mengal’s statement.

After hearing the arguments, the court approved Murad’s post-arrest bail against Rs50,000 surety bonds.

Earlier, a petition was filed by Waheed Murad’s mother-in-law through lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, seeking the recovery of the missing journalist. The petition named several high-ranking officials as respondents, including the interior secretary, defense secretary, Islamabad’s inspector general of police, and the station house officer (SHO) of the Karachi Company police station.

A complaint regarding the incident was filed at the Karachi Company police station; however, no formal FIR was registered.

The petition urged for immediate action to locate and recover Murad, while also seeking legal action against those responsible for his alleged abduction.