The court orders him to appear before the appropriate court within a week to seek further legal relief.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi. Photo: Express/archive
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued an interim order restraining the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi, nominated in a case for “false, offensive and inflammatory content on social media to defame state institutions and spread false narratives”.
In the interview, Noreen alleged that Marka-e-Haq It was a collaboration between the Pakistan Armed Forces and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He further stated that India refrained from attacking Pakistan at Israel’s request because Pakistan was moving towards recognition of Israel.
A first information report (FIR) was registered a few days ago against the appellant under Sections 20 (Offences against the dignity of a natural person) and 26-A (Punishment for false and falsified information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, along with Sections 505 (Statements leading to public mischief) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Penal Code of Pakistan (PPC) stating that Noreen issued derogatory and inflammatory comments against state institutions during a podcast and through subsequent clips shared on X.
During the court proceedings, Noreen’s lawyer stated in a petition that the NCCIA had registered a case against her under the PECA Act and that she intended to approach the competent court for interim bail.
The defense attorney expressed fear that the agency might arrest her before she proceeded to the appropriate court. The petition asked the court to grant him protective bail to allow him to appear before the trial court without risk of arrest.
Accepting the plea, Justice Sardar Akbar Dogar granted Noreen one-week protective bail and restrained the NCCIA from arresting her during this period. The court also directed him to appear before the concerned court within a week to seek further legal relief.
Read: Imran Khan’s sister submits initial response to NCCIA over Marka-e-Haq’s controversial comments
Background of the case
The case arose after the NCCIA initiated proceedings against Noreen on July 18 following the circulation of an interview that went viral on social media.
The agency said the “essence of the allegations” was that Noreen had allegedly spread “false, offensive and inflammatory content on social media to defame state institutions and spread false narratives.”
The agency summoned Noreen to appear before the NCCIA Cyber Crime Complaint Center in Islamabad on July 20 to record her statement as part of an investigation. The notice further warned that failure to comply with the summons could have legal consequences under Article 174 (Failure to Comply with an Order of a Public Servant) of the PPC.
Appearing before the NCCIA on July 20, Noreen’s lawyer Faisal Malik said he came to know about the notice through social media, after which his legal team submitted a preliminary written response to the agency. He also said the legal team has asked the agency for four weeks to submit a detailed response to the notice.
Citing his client, Malik said Noreen maintained that “as a Pakistani, she respects all state institutions” and “could never do anything that would bring Pakistan into disrepute.”
He Marka-e-Haq Noreen’s controversial comments had drawn ire from the public, government, political parties and PTI factions.
Read more: ‘There will be no leniency,’ warns Talal on Noreen Niazi’s comments
On July 19, Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry accused Noreen of promoting an anti-state narrative and said punitive action would be initiated against her.
“It makes no difference whether the person is a man or a woman. The law will take its course and there will be no leniency for anyone who undermines the stability of Pakistan,” he said a day after legal proceedings were launched over his recent comments.
Three days later, PTI president Advocate Gohar Ali Khan clarified that Imran Khan’s sister’s comments reflected personal views and not the party’s official position.
