Islamabad court issues non-bailable arrest warrant for KP CM Sohail Afridi

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case accusing him of making misleading statements against state institutions and damaging their reputation.

The case has been registered with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah, who presided over the proceedings, noted that the KP chief minister had failed to appear before the court despite repeated summons. The judge subsequently ordered Afridi’s arrest and directed the relevant authorities to ensure his production before the court.

The hearing was adjourned until February 10.

The court observed that this was not the first instance of non-compliance, recalling that a non-bailable arrest warrant had also been issued against Afridi at a previous hearing on January 4 due to his continued absence.

During that hearing, Judge Shah had remarked that the chief minister had repeatedly ignored court summons and remained absent without any lawful justification, despite being granted multiple opportunities to present himself and respond to the allegations.

Taking a serious view of Afridi’s persistent non-appearance, the court termed it a deliberate attempt to evade the legal process and underscored that no individual, regardless of office, was above the law.