Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested former TV anchor and journalist Syed Iqrar-ul-Hassan in Lahore on charges of allegedly broadcasting false, fabricated, and anti-state content on social media. Following the arrest, the Judicial Magistrate Court of Karachi East granted a four-day physical remand of the accused and directed the investigating officer to appear with a progress report on October 17, 2026.
According to documents, Case No. 101/2026 was registered on October 10, 2026, at the NCCIA Cyber Crime Reporting Center in Karachi, based on a source report by Inspector Muhammad Ali Khan. The FIR invokes Sections 9, 10, 20, 24, and 26-A of the PECA Act 2016 (as amended in 2025). The case details allege that Iqrar-ul-Hassan used his personal social media handles (X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok) to portray the lawful actions of state institutions and government officials in a controversial light, thereby attempting to incite public distrust and unrest.
Investigating officials took the accused into custody during an operation in Lahore on October 12 and seized four iPhones and an iPad from his possession. According to the preliminary technical report, Iqrar-ul-Hassan’s social media accounts were found logged into the seized devices, and the relevant posts were also present in the device galleries. On October 13, the case’s investigating officer and Assistant Director, Rana Muhammad Faisal Munir Khan, produced the accused before the court and requested a 14-day physical remand. The investigation team argued that custody was necessary to examine mobile phones, SIM cards, and digital data; to recover the equipment used for editing and posting content; and to identify other accomplices.
Instead of the requested 14 days, the court granted a four-day physical remand, following which the agency initiated a formal investigation involving digital forensic analysis and inquiries into potential funding sources.
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