Online loan apps case: court extends 12-day pre-arrest bail of 09 accuses

RAWALPINDI Aug 18 (Online): Additional & Sesson judge Rawalpindi M. Ilyas allotted 12-day extension to nine accuses inclunding 4 Chinese citizens and 2 Pakistani women.

Online loan app were involved in giving loan afterward blackmailing and harassing citizens.
Keep clear that a man did suicide due to harassment and blackmailing of online loan app.

M. Shoaib Shafique, Waseem Ahmed, Sumaira Furqan, Sidra Razaq and Yousaf along with four Chinese citizens Chen Yi, Tao Wang, cao Liang, jiang Wei appeared in court with their lawyers Tariq Bashir Dogar, Muhammad Kamal Hassan and Mian Abdul Jabbar.

Widow of man who ended his life due to this online apps and widows was also present in the court room with his advocate Syed Najab Hussain Shah.
On that occasion window’s lawyer submitted affidavit in court and pleaded for respite on that court adjourned till August 30.

In mid-July, 42-year-old Mohammad Masood died by suicide due to blackmail and threats by loan apps over his failure to repay the ballooning interest on his debts.
The next day, the FIA’s cybercrime wing had launched an investigation into the matter, following which it arrested nine suspects and booked 19 others.

The incident had led to strong public backlash, with the abysmal situation of the financially vulnerable coming to the fore.
Subsequently, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had blocked 43 lending apps operating without a licence while the Secu¬rities and Exchange Commis¬sion of Pakistan (SECP) had advised borrowers to review the legal status of such apps before signing up for loans.

This week, around 120 illegal loan apps that were previously available on the Google Play and Apple stores were removed from those platforms.
Google has also introduced Pakistan’s Personal Loan App Policy, according to which it only allows SECP-approved personal loan apps to be listed on the Play Store.

Today, Masood’s widow, who wished not to be named and addressed herself as Mrs Masood, demanded justice in a video statement. She recalled that there was a court hearing today where the suspects in her now-deceased husband’s case were presented.

She said, “I do not have enough money to fight this case. I appeal to the honourable courts and the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) to give me justice.
“No matter how powerful the suspects are, if our FIA officials do not show weakness and fight this case while considering it of a widow [and a] Pakistani daughter, then they will, God willing, ensure justice for me,” she said.

The widow appealed to the media, the judiciary and the FIA for the “strictest action” to be taken against the suspects and that a “complete ban be imposed on their companies so that hundreds of thousands of others are saved from falling into their traps and from resorting to suicide”.
“I hope that all the institutions will support me and help me in getting justice. I want justice,” she said. “And if I do not get justice, all these institutions that are not supporting me today will be responsible for my suicide as well.”