Journalist allegedly involved in Gen Bajwa's tax data leak sent on physical remand.

ISLAMABAD -- A court Saturday remanded Shahid Aslam - the reporter suspected of leaking tax data of former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa's family members - to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for two days.

Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir of a district and sessions court announced the verdict - reserved a while back - and handed over the journalist to the FIA.

During the hearing, the prosecutor said that Aslam was arrested by the agency yesterday. He added that the suspect was allegedly getting information from the Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan (FBR).

"There is evidence against Shahid Aslam which shows that the suspect was leaking information," said the prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the suspect denied all the charges against him, saying that there was no evidence against him as he has done nothing wrong.

In response, Aslam said that he has been covering FBR stories for a long time. "I am a journalist and I know my professional duties," he added.

The prosecutor questioned why Aslam was not providing the password for his laptop. The judge remarked that it was not wrong to get information as a journalist.

At this, the prosecutor said that the suspects involved in leaking FBR information have repeatedly named Aslam. In response, Aslam's counsel said the court should determine whether Aslam was arrested through a proper procedure or not.

"Can the statements provided by the suspects - arrested earlier in connection with the leak - be authentic?" questioned the counsel.

He said that it was not right to arrest Aslam on the basis of the mere statements from suspects, adding that he has been under arrest by the FIA for the last 24 hours.

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