ISLAMABAD. The court of Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah granted bail to senior journalist Fakhar-ur-Rehman, who was arrested in a case registered under the PECA Act for a controversial post on X.
During Monday’s hearing on the post-arrest bail application, Barrister Ahad Khokhar appeared in court on behalf of journalist Fakhar-ur-Rehman and took the position that, according to the NCCIA report, the mobile phone has been recovered. The defence argued that the accused is a senior citizen on regular medication. He did not express any personal opinion but merely shared a Maulana’s statement, and even the FIR does not specify his role. He further submitted that the case is baseless and that bail should be granted.
The prosecution requested that the bail application be rejected and took the position that journalism is a sacred profession, questioning whether the statement was confirmed by the DG ISPR or the Ministry of Defence. The prosecution further argued that such tweets had previously contributed to unrest in Skardu, where public property was set on fire, and warned that, given the already sensitive state of relations between Pakistan and Iran, the accused’s actions could exacerbate tensions. It therefore urged the court to reject the bail application
After the arguments of both parties were completed, the court reserved its decision and later ordered the approval of Fakhar-ur-Rehman’s post-arrest bail application in exchange for bonds worth Rs 50,000.
