A Karachi court on Wednesday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of journalist Shahzeb Ali Shah Jillani, who is facing the so-called charges of cyber terrorism, electronic forgery and defamatory remarks against state institutions.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had registered a case against him under sections 10(a) (cyber terrorism), 11 (electronic forgery) and 20 (malicious code) of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 in the start of April. Days after the case, Jilani had approached the court for pre-arrest bail.
During the hearing today, FIA’s investigation officer (IO) failed to show up once again. Citing the IO’s absence as the reason, the prosecutor asked the judge to adjourn the hearing.
The judge expressed displeasure at the IO’s persistent failure to attend case hearings and ordered the FIA official to be present at the next hearing.
