The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency has issued fresh notices to actor Momina Iqbal and PML-N MPA Saqib Chadhar after new digital evidence emerged in an ongoing case involving allegations of online harassment and threats.
The development marks a new phase in the investigation after the NCCIA formed a special team to reassess the case, including previously collected material and the newly obtained digital evidence.
Iqbal had accused Chadhar of harassing and threatening her online, including alleged cyberbullying. She initially raised the allegations publicly on social media, after which the NCCIA registered a case against the lawmaker under provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and Pakistan Penal Code.
The allegations remain subject to investigation and have not been established through a final court judgment.
According to an NCCIA spokesperson, the newly constituted investigation team will be headed by an officer of deputy director rank. It has been tasked with examining the fresh digital evidence alongside previous records and other information connected to the case.
The team has been given one month to complete its inquiry and submit its findings to the NCCIA director general. Authorities will determine further legal action after reviewing that report.
The development also affected proceedings before a Lahore sessions court.
An NCCIA investigation officer informed the court on Thursday that the investigation had been changed and a new investigative team constituted. The officer also said the agency did not currently require the arrest of Chadhar or his wife, Sameera.
Following that statement, Chadhar withdrew his interim bail application.
Speaking outside the court, Chadhar said evidence he had submitted to investigators led the NCCIA to conclude that his arrest was unnecessary. He also claimed that the development had vindicated him and demonstrated that the case was baseless.
However, the NCCIA’s decision not to seek his arrest at this stage does not itself amount to a judicial finding that the allegations are false. The agency has instead ordered a fresh investigation, with further legal action dependent on its findings.
Iqbal, meanwhile, said she would continue pursuing the case and called for the allegations to be examined without bias.
The actor said she had maintained from the beginning that investigators should consider the matter impartially. She also rejected suggestions that she would have made such allegations without reason shortly before her marriage.
“I will not leave this case like this, no matter whom they approach,” Iqbal told reporters after appearing in court.
The most significant development is therefore not the withdrawal of Chadhar’s bail plea, but the NCCIA’s decision to reassess the case after obtaining additional digital material.
The special team’s findings will now be central to determining whether investigators proceed with the existing allegations, recommend additional legal action or reach a different conclusion after reviewing the evidence.
Until that process is completed, claims made by either side should be treated as their respective positions rather than established findings.
