FIA told to stop harassing citizens

Senior Civil Judge FIA Muhammad Nasrullah Wattoo discharged 68 male and female young employees arrested by the NCCIA Rawalpindi and dismissed the case against them. The NCCIA Rawalpindi had raided a call centre in the Commercial Market area the previous night and arrested 68 people, including employees and managers. Cases were registered against them under the PECA Act and various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code. Asad Abbasi, Advocate Supreme Court, appeared before the court on behalf of the call-centre owners and employees and termed the case baseless. He argued that poor, unemployed and educated young people worked at call centres, while authorities carried out raids without distinguishing between legal and illegal activities, harassing ordinary people and putting the future of young people at risk through such cases. He said unemployment was at its peak and digital marketing was the only refuge for educated unemployed people. The judge agreed with the arguments and not only discharged the accused but also directed the FIA not to harass people unlawfully or arrest them in future. The court also directed that the creation of fear and harassment through unjustified raids be stopped and, while discharging all the employees by declaring the case bogus and baseless, dismissed the case.