The Sessions Court in Lahore has rejected the post-arrest bail petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javed in the case related to sharing offensive posts on social media against the heads of state institutions.
According to a report, Additional District and Sessions Judge Suleman Ghuman announced the decision on Sanam Javed’s post-arrest bail application on Tuesday. Sanam Javed was on judicial remand and had filed for bail, maintaining that the charges against her were baseless.
However, the public prosecutor opposed the bail and presented relevant records in court to support the argument. In his decision, the judge stated that, upon observation, several screenshots of the alleged posts had been made part of the record, which showed that the petitioner had uploaded and shared extremely offensive content against public office holders (the Army Chief and the Prime Minister) through her social media accounts.
He said that in most of the posts, the petitioner had targeted the Pakistan Army with the aim of defaming the institution. In some posts, the petitioner had used photos of the Army Chief and senior military officers to make derogatory remarks.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Suleman Ghuman stated in his verdict that during the investigation, it came to light that the petitioner was found to be involved in the crime. The judge said in the order that the forensic analysis report indicates a prima facie link between the petitioner and the crime; therefore, the post-arrest bail petition is rejected.
