KARACHI: A judicial magistrate’s order to hand over anchorperson Iqrarul Hassan to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) was challenged on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a judicial magistrate (East) granted the NCCIA the TV anchor’s custody for four days in a case of allegedly disseminating anti-state content. While Hassan’s family had claimed he was picked up by men mostly in plainclothes from his residence in Lahore on Monday, the Punjab government had clarified the police had not arrested him.

Subsequently, Hassan’s defence counsel, Barrister Mian Ali Ashfaq, on Wednesday filed a petition challenging the magistrate’s order before a district and sessions judge (East).

The plea was fixed for hearing tomorrow (Thursday). Ashfaq told Dawn that his client was also likely to be produced before the court.

The plea, available with Dawn, also requested the court to order authorities to discharge Hassan or remand him to judicial custody instead.

“Alternatively, release the applicant on bail with or without sureties, if this honourable court deems fit,” the petition read.

It further sought directives to the investigating officer to “complete the investigation using lawful investigative techniques that do not require the applicant’s physical custody, including forensic analysis of the already-seized devices and formal requests to service providers”.

According to the NCCIA, Hassan was arrested for allegedly disseminating anti-state, false and defamatory content on his official social media accounts.

He was booked under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism), 24 (cyberstalking) and 26A (Punishment for false and fake information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

Hassan had been critical of the government’s policies on social media.

The anchorperson’s family alleged he was picked up in the early hours of Monday by men in plainclothes, one of whom was wearing an identification tag of the NCCIA.

In a video, his wife Far­ah Iqrar said she and Hassan were at their residence in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) when individuals in plainclothes broke open the main gate, entered the pre­mises at around 3am and took her husband away.

She alleged that the men manhandled her and confiscated two mobile phones belonging to her husband, a laptop and her own mo­­bile phone. She added that a masked woman among the raiding party was wearing an NCCIA identification tag.

In 2022, five officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) were suspended “for mistreatment of ARY News team” after Hassan accused them of subjecting him and his team members to extreme forms of torture.