LAHOR:A day after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) registered a case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) MPA Saqib Chadhar for allegedly harassing television actor Momina Iqbal, the lawmaker obtained interim pre-arrest bail from a Lahore court on Friday.Additional District and Sessions Judge Irfan Ahmad Sheikh approved the bail after hearing MPA’s plea.
During the hearing, MPA appeared before the court along with his counsel, Mian Ali Ashfaq. The court barred the NCCIA from arresting Chadhar until June 24 and directed the agency to submit the case record at the next hearing. According to the NCCIA Director Ali Wasim, the NCCIA had registered a case against Chadhar on Thursday on the complaint of Momina Iqbal under multiple sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, including unauthorised access to data, unauthorised copying or transmission of data, offences against modesty, and cyber stalking. Additional provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code, including criminal intimidation, disappearance of evidence, common intention, and abetment were also included. As per the FIR, Momina alleged that Chadhar, along with his wife and associates, conducted a sustained campaign of cyber harassment, stalking, intimidation, blackmail, defamation, unlawful surveillance, and threats against her and her family.
The FIR stated that after Momina rejected Chadhar’s marriage proposal upon learning of his existing marriage. He allegedly issued repeated threats, attempted to access her private data, sent violent content, and blackmailed her using private videos. Momina also alleged that the accused defamed her socially and professionally, disrupted her 2023 marriage proposal through false information and recently escalated threats to leak private material and harm her and her fiancé, causing emotional, reputational, and professional damage. According to the FIR, preliminary technical and forensic analysis of devices linked to both parties was conducted, and the findings formed the basis for registering the case against the PMLN lawmaker.
