Saqib Chadhar gets interim bail in Momina Iqbal case

A court has granted interim bail to Saqib Chadhar in a harassment case involving actress Momina Iqbal. The court has also barred authorities from arresting him until June 24.

LAHORE: A court has granted interim bail to Saqib Chadhar in a harassment case involving actress Momina Iqbal. The court has also barred authorities from arresting him until June 24.

The hearing was conducted in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Irfan Ahmed Sheikh. The court took up the plea for pre-arrest bail during the proceedings.

Saqib Chadhar is nominated in a case registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). After the registration of the case, he approached the court seeking protective bail.

During the hearing, the court reviewed the initial arguments and granted interim relief. It ordered that the accused should not be arrested until the next hearing date.

The court issued notices and directed further proceedings to continue on the next scheduled date.

Officials confirmed that the NCCIA had initiated legal action in connection with the harassment allegations. The case remains under investigation.

The matter will now be taken up again on June 24, when the court will decide the future course of proceedings.

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has registered a case against Punjab Assembly member Saqib Chadhar in connection with allegations of harassment and blackmail involving actress Momina Iqbal.

According to the FIR, the case has been registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The complainant alleged that Saqib Chadhar and his associates engaged in blackmail and issued threats.

The FIR states that the accused allegedly threatened to leak private data if the actress did not agree to marriage. It further claims that Momina Iqbal’s sister provided video evidence of the threats to the NCCIA.

Officials said the videos and mobile phone have been taken into custody as digital evidence and sent for forensic examination. The FIR also mentions threatening messages allegedly sent from the accused’s number.

According to the statement recorded in the FIR, Momina Iqbal refused marriage after learning about Saqib Chadhar’s first marriage. It further alleges that after her refusal, he began blackmailing her using private videos.

The FIR also claims that earlier in 2023, false allegations were used to end the actress’s engagement. It adds that later both Momina Iqbal and her current husband were also threatened.

Investigators stated that the accused, along with his wife and associates, allegedly carried out cyber harassment and continuous surveillance. The FIR further claims that data and applications were deleted from the accused’s mobile phone before it was handed over to authorities.

The NCCIA said the investigation is ongoing and digital evidence is being examined to determine the extent of the allegations.

Momina Iqbal had recently submitted evidence to the cybercrime agency, after which legal proceedings were initiated.

Earlier, Actor and model Momina Iqbal on Friday filed an application with Chung Police for the registration of a first information report against a PML-N MPA Saqib Chadhar, levelling serious allegations of blackmail, harassment and death threats.

In her application, she alleged that the PML-N MPA had been making threatening calls to harass her and her fiance.

Momina claimed that the lawmaker turned abusive when she refused his marriage proposal, after it transpired that he was already married to two women.

Subsequently, she said Chadhar began blackmailing her. Momina also mentioned WhatsApp messages and video calls from the suspect in her application.