PML-N MPA Chadhar granted pre-arrest bail in cyber harassment case filed by Momina Iqbal

• NCCIA had registered case under PECA and Pakistan Penal Code provisions

• Actor Momina Iqbal alleges sustained cyber harassment, intimidation and blackmail

• FIR claims rejection of marriage proposal triggered alleged retaliation campaign

• Court restrains NCCIA from arresting lawmaker till June 24

 LAHORE: A day after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) registered a case against PML-N MPA Saqib Chadhar over allegations of cyber harassment and intimidation of television actor Momina Iqbal, the lawmaker on Friday secured interim pre-arrest bail from a Lahore court.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Irfan Ahmad Sheikh granted the protective bail after hearing Chadhar’s plea. The court barred the NCCIA from arresting him till June 24 and directed the agency to submit the complete case record at the next hearing. Chadhar appeared before the court along with his counsel, Mian Ali Ashfaq.

The NCCIA had registered the case on Thursday on Iqbal’s complaint under Sections 3, 4, 21 and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), read with Sections 506, 201, 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

In the FIR, Momina Iqbal alleged that Chadhar, his wife and their “known and unknown associates” had launched a sustained campaign of cyber harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation, blackmail, defamation, unlawful surveillance and threats against her and her family.

She further alleged that after rejecting Chadhar’s marriage proposal upon discovering he was already married, he retaliated with repeated threats, attempts to access her private data, and blackmail involving private videos.

The FIR stated that the accused also defamed her socially and professionally, sabotaged her 2023 marriage proposal through false information, and later intensified threats to leak private material, harm her and her fiancé, and disrupt her upcoming marriage, causing severe emotional, reputational and professional damage.

It added that preliminary technical and forensic analysis of mobile phones and other devices of both parties had yielded evidence leading to the registration of the case.

The matter came into the spotlight after Iqbal posted on social media alleging prolonged cyber harassment, bullying and death threats, which drew attention from senior PML-N leadership, including Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. She claimed she and her family had suffered severe mental distress and that repeated complaints to NCCIA and the FIA had initially gone unaddressed.

Iqbal also alleged that attempts were made to suppress her complaint, including pressure from individuals linked to the Chief Minister’s Office. A source had earlier stated that the PML-N leadership subsequently directed NCCIA to immediately take up the matter and proceed if allegations were substantiated.

Following these developments, NCCIA summoned both Iqbal and Chadhar on May 21. The agency said they were called after receiving the complaint, and recorded their statements before the FIR was lodged.

Iqbal later filed an application with Lahore’s Chung police seeking registration of a case, reiterating allegations of threatening calls, WhatsApp messages and video calls, and claiming harassment after she rejected a marriage proposal from the MPA, whom she alleged had concealed his marital status.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz warned in a post on X that any attempt to use political influence or threaten a woman with the release of private content in the case would face “firm and uncompromising action.”

In a related development, the Lahore High Court had earlier granted interim protective bail to Iqbal’s husband, Hamza Habib, in a separate case of allegedly threatening the lawmaker.