Journalist Farhan Mallick remanded to FIA custody in fresh case

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published March 26, 2025 at 07:59 pm |  JP Staff Report

KARACHI—A Karachi court on Wednesday remanded journalist Farhan Mallick into the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for five days in connection with a new case.

Mallick was originally arrested on March 20, 2025, in Karachi by the FIA on charges of allegedly disseminating anti-state content. He was booked under multiple sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, including Section 16 (unauthorized use of identity information) and Section 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person). Additionally, he was charged under Section 26-A of PECA, as well as Sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

His lawyer, Abdul Moiz Jaferi, strongly condemned the registration of the new case, calling it an act of harassment.

On Wednesday, the FIA presented Mallick before the Malir court in connection with a fresh First Information Report (FIR) that alleges his involvement in fraudulent activities. The agency claimed to have conducted a raid on a call centre on March 25, where employees were allegedly engaged in stealing financial data from foreign nationals and defrauding them. During the raid, two suspects were taken into custody, who reportedly told investigators that the call centre was operating under Mallick’s instructions.

According to the new FIR, Syed Muhammad Atir Hussain, Hasan Najeeb Alam, and others were allegedly involved in stealing confidential financial information from foreign nationals through "spoofed calls and impersonation," using the stolen credit card data for illicit financial gains.

صحافی فرحان ملک کو نئے مقدمے میں ایف آئی اے کے حوالے کر دیا گیا

کراچی—کراچی کی ایک عدالت نے بدھ کے روز صحافی فرحان ملک کو پانچ دن کے لیے وفاقی تحقیقاتی ادارے (ایف آئی اے) کی تحویل میں دے دیا۔

ملک کو 20 مارچ 2025 کو کراچی میں ایف آئی اے نے گرفتار کیا تھا، ان پر ریاست مخالف مواد پھیلانے کے الزامات عائد کیے گئے تھے۔ انہیں پریوینشن آف الیکٹرانک کرائمز ایکٹ (PECA) 2016 کی مختلف دفعات، بشمول دفعہ 16 (شناختی معلومات کے غیر مجاز استعمال) اور دفعہ 20 (کسی فرد کی عزت کو مجروح کرنے کے جرائم) کے تحت مقدمہ درج کیا گیا تھا۔ اس کے علاوہ، ان پران کے وکیل عبدالمعیز جعفری نے نئے مقدمے کے اندراج کی شدید مذمت کرتے ہوئے اسے ہراسانی قرار دیا۔ PECA کی دفعہ 26-A اور پاکستان پینل کوڈ (PPC) کی دفعات 500 (ہتک عزت کی سزا) اور 109 (اعانت) کے تحت بھی الزامات عائد کیے

بدھ کے روز، ایف آئی اے نے ملک کو ملیر کی عدالت میں پیش کیا اور ان کے خلاف درج ایک نئے مقدمے میں ان پر دھوکہ دہی میں ملوث ہونے کا الزام لگایا۔ ایجنسی نے دعویٰ کیا کہ 25 مارچ کو ایک کال سینٹر پر چھاپہ مارا گیا، جہاں ملازمین مبینہ طور پر غیر ملکیوں کے مالیاتی ڈیٹا چوری کرکے انہیں دھوکہ دے رہے تھے۔ اس کارروائی میں دو مشتبہ افراد کو گرفتار کیا گیا، جنہوں نے مبینہ طور پر حکام کو بتایا کہ کال سینٹر ملک کی ہدایات پر چلایا جا رہا تھا۔

نئی ایف آئی آر کے مطابق، سید محمد عاطر حسین، حسن نجیب عالم اور دیگر افراد مبینہ طور پر "اسپوٖفڈ کالز اور جعلسازی" کے ذریعے غیر ملکیوں کے خفیہ مالیاتی ڈیٹا چوری کرنے اور کریڈٹ کارڈ کی معلومات کو غیر قانونی مالی فوائد کے لیے استعمال کرنے میں ملوث تھے۔

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