ISLAMABAD: A former chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Saturday invoked the jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) with the prayer to declare the notices issued by Cyber Crime Reporting Centre of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), unlawful/illegal.

Ex-chief Pemra Absar Alam filed an application in the IHC under Article 199 of Constitution through senior counsel, Sajid Tanoli.

He also prayed before the high court to direct the FIA not to harass, humiliate, threat or arrest him in connection with the complaint lodged by a lawyer with the investigative agency.

SHC Cyber Crime Reporting Centre of the FIA had issued notice to the former chairman Pemra regarding a complaint that he had uploaded defamatory tweets against the State individuals, and departments through his Twitter account.

The petitioner, a journalist, submitted that he highlights human rights violations through his Twitter handle and try to defend the aggrieved and deprived segments of the society, and also for the supremacy of the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Absar submitted that the SHO Cyber Crime FIA had summoned him without providing details of the allegations against him.

He stated that the respondents through notices were trying to harass, humiliate, blackmail, and arrest him illegally, unlawfully, without due process of law, and that the same was part of the campaign of silencing sane voices.

He said, time and again, he requested the SHO to provide him a copy of complaint, evidence, and material, if any, so that he may furnish his defence but the SHO flatly refused to provide any document to him.

He submitted that the IHC in Arshad Sulehri's case had clearly instructed/directed the FIA to follow the due process of law, but unfortunately the respondent department is adamant, and is acting in sheer violation of the judgment by issuing illegal/unlawful notice to the petitioner.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021