ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court on Tuesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi after he did not appear in a case registered against him under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah passed the order during proceedings related to allegations that Afridi made statements considered harmful to the reputation of state institutions. The court instructed law enforcement agencies to ensure his arrest and production before the bench and adjourned the matter until February 21.
The case was initiated by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority following remarks attributed to Afridi during a media talk outside Adiala Jail in early November. An FIR was subsequently lodged on November 9 after authorities conducted a preliminary inquiry into the statements.
According to investigators, the chief minister had claimed that security personnel in the province brought dogs into mosques and restrained them there, an assertion that triggered strong public reaction. Officials later concluded that the allegation was baseless and made with deliberate intent.
The inquiry report stated that the remarks were recorded and then widely shared across social media platforms, including through a video posted on a party-linked digital channel. Investigators argued that the circulation of the content risked damaging institutional credibility and disturbing public order.
The FIR maintains that the material carried misleading and defamatory assertions aimed at undermining confidence in state bodies. It also alleges that the online dissemination of the remarks formed part of a broader attempt to create unrest and anxiety among the public.
Court records show that Afridi had been summoned on multiple occasions but did not attend the hearings or submit any formal explanation for his absence. The judge observed that repeated non-appearance left the court with little option but to proceed with coercive measures to secure his presence.
This is not the first such development in the case. A similar warrant had been issued last month when the court noted a pattern of non-compliance with its directives and described the absence as an effort to avoid the legal process.
With the latest order, authorities have been tasked with ensuring that the chief minister is brought before the court to answer the allegations framed under cybercrime laws relating to the spread of information considered damaging to institutional integrity and public peace.
