The court directs her to appear before the relevant court within a week to seek further legal relief
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Founder Imran Khan’s sister, Noreen Niazi. Photo: Express/file
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 social media content to defame state institutions and spread fake narratives”.
In the interview, Noreen alleged that Marka-e-Haq was a collaboration between the Pakistan Armed Forces and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She further claimed that India refrained from attacking Pakistan at Israel’s request because Pakistan was moving towards recognising Israel.
A first information report (FIR) was registered few days back against the appellant under Sections 20 (Offences against dignity of a natural person) and 26-A (Punishment for false and fake information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, along with Sections 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) stating that Noreen issued derogatory and inflammatory remarks against state institutions during a podcast and through subsequent clips shared on X.
During the court proceedings, Noreen’s legal counsel 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 defence counsel expressed apprehension that the agency could arrest her before she approached the relevant court. The petition requested the court to grant protective bail to allow her to appear before the trial court without the 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 her to appear before the relevant court within a week to seek further legal relief.
Read: Imran Khan’s sister submits initial reply to NCCIA over controversial Marka-e-Haq remarks
Case Background
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 “gist of allegations” was that Noreen had allegedly disseminated “false, offensive, and inflammatory social media content to defame state institutions and spread fake narratives”.
The agency summoned Noreen to appear before the NCCIA Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad on July 20 to record her statement as part of an inquiry. The notice further warned that failure to comply with the summon could result in legal consequences under Section 174 (Non-attendance in obedience to an order from a public servant) of the PPC.
Appearing before the NCCIA on July 20, Noreen’s lawyer Faisal Malik said she learned about the notice through social media, after which her legal team submitted a preliminary written reply to the agency. He also said that the legal team has sought four weeks from the agency to submit a detailed response to the notice.
Quoting his client, Malik said Noreen maintained that “as a Pakistani, she respects all state institutions” and “could never do anything that would bring disrepute to Pakistan.”
The Marka-e-Haq controversial remarks from Noreen had drawn ire from the public, government, political parties and factions of PTI.
Read more: ‘There will be no leniency,’ Talal warns over Noreen Niazi’s remarks
On July 19, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry accused Noreen of promoting an anti-state narrative and said punitive action will 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 found undermining Pakistan’s stability,” he said a day after legal proceedings were initiated over her recent remarks.
Three days later, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan clarified that the remarks of Imran Khan’s sister reflected personal views and not the party’s official position.
