LAHORE: A district court on Thursday handed over PTI social media activist Falak Javed Khan to the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on five-day physical remand in a case concerning doctored videos of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari circulated on social media.
Javed was arrested on Wednesday by the NCCIA and produced before Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo, who heard the agency’s request for 30 days of custody. The magistrate instead granted five days, directing that she be kept in custody until September 30 and presented again with an investigation report.
The court order, a copy of which is available, records defence lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq’s arguments that there was no evidence on record to justify Javed’s arrest or remand.
He claimed the arrest involved “illegalities” in warrants and proclamations, and said the case violated Section 40 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, which requires an independent forensic laboratory.
Ashfaq further argued that the NCCIA had acted both as complainant and investigating authority, while the viral clip in question had already been deleted. “After that, there is no need for remand,” the order quoted him as saying.
The prosecution countered that Javed was the principal suspect in the case, had failed to cooperate with investigators, and that her mobile phone needed forensic analysis. They added that the cybercrime lab, though set up under the FIA, operated in compliance with PECA and its reports carried legal weight.
The court noted that as this was the first remand, further investigation and recovery were still required.
Bokhari had first approached authorities in July 2023, alleging that doctored images and videos of her were edited and disseminated online. In her petition, she accused Javed of involvement and asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take action under PECA. She said the material defamed her and infringed on her constitutional rights, urging the court to order compliance from the agency.
