Court grants pre-arrest bail to two journalists in PECA case

The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Wednesday confirmed pre-arrest bail for two journalists in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), after hearing arguments from both sides

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th May, 2026) The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Wednesday confirmed pre-arrest bail for two journalists in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), after hearing arguments from both sides.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka presided over the case. Journalists Rizwan Ghazali and Aqeel Hussain had filed applications seeking pre-arrest bail, which the court approved and later confirmed.

The court granted bail against surety bonds of Rs10,000 each. Defence counsel argued that the case was based on an First Information Report without grounds. The lawyer informed the court that the applicants did not express personal views in the tweet but only shared existing content.

He added that many others had also shared the same clip and questioned whether cases had been registered against all of them.

The prosecution opposed the bail requests and asked the court to reject the applications. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its decision and later announced approval of the bail petitions.

In the same case, journalist Fakhar Rehman had already secured post-arrest bail earlier. The case was registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against the accused under the PECA law.