Physical remand of YouTuber: NCCIA’s plea seeking extension rejected

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Wednesday rejected a plea of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), seeking extension in physical remand of a YouTuber and sent him to jail on judicial remand in a case related to the alleged sharing of anti-state content on social media.

The NCCIA officials produced YouTuber Sohrab Barkat before Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah after expiry of his two-day physical remand. At the start of the hearing, the NCCIA officials requested that the court further extend the physical remand of the accused for another 10 days to complete the investigation process.

Defence counsel, Barrister Saad Rasool, objected to the prosecution’s plea and requested the court to reject the application seeking an extension in the physical remand of his client. He told the court that his client had been invited to attend an international conference. He said that on November 26, Barkat was stopped at Islamabad airport, informing him that he would be arrested.

However, the court dismissed the NCCIA’s request and sent the accused to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025