ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of Hassan Zahid in the Samia Hijab abduction case.
Following the rejection, police arrested the accused in another case and secured a two-day physical remand from the court in a matter involving threats and cash snatching.
The investigating officer told the court that further arrests of other suspects linked to the case are to be made on Zahid’s identification.
Meanwhile, the defence counsel informed the court that Zahid and complainant Samia Hijab had already been engaged. Zahid currently faces two cases registered at Shalimar Police Station.
The Islamabad-based social media influencer had alleged that Zahid — with whom she had been in a relationship — had been harassing her for months with threats and demands to marry him.
In a video posted on Instagram, where she has a following of nearly 850,000, she claimed he appeared outside her residence, grabbed her phone, and tried to force her into his car.
“My mother was ill, my brother wasn’t home. When I stepped outside, he snatched my mobile, sat in his car, and forced me in as well,” Samiya, who is also a popular face on TikTok, said.
Three days earlier, a sessions court extended the physical remand of Hasan Zahid for three more days in the Samiya Hijab abduction and threats case.
The suspect was produced before Duty Magistrate Azhar Nadeem after completing his initial five-day physical remand.
During the proceedings, the defence counsel argued that the court should first review the previous remand order and asked the police to explain what investigations had been carried out during the earlier remand period.
The court was presented with the transaction history between Zahid and social media personality Samiya, as well as a video statement by the woman’s parents. The defence counsel also informed the court that the two were engaged, and presented their engagement photographs.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, said Rs45,000 had been recovered from the suspect. He added that Zahid’s vehicle, weapons, and accomplices were yet to be recovered, and requested an eight-day extension in physical remand to pursue these leads.