Momina Iqbal: Court Extends Interim Bail of PML-N MPA Saqib Chaddar and Wife Until July 28
Lahore sessions court orders the NCCIA to complete its investigation into cyber harassment and death threat allegations before the next hearing.
Actor Momina Iqbal's cyber harassment case returns to court as interim bail is extended for the accused.
Momina Iqbal‘s cyber harassment case took another legal turn on Monday after a Lahore sessions court extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Saqib Chaddar and his wife, Samira, until July 28, while directing the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to complete its investigation before the next hearing.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Nusrat Ali Siddiqui issued the order while hearing the couple’s bail petitions. Both Saqib Chaddar and Samira appeared before the court to mark their attendance.
The investigating officer informed the court that Samira had joined the investigation, but the inquiry remained incomplete. He said investigators required the mobile phone containing the SIM card allegedly used in the offence for forensic examination and requested more time to complete the probe.
The defence argued that the NCCIA had registered the case without sufficient factual grounds and urged the court to confirm the interim pre-arrest bail.
After hearing both sides, the court accepted the investigating officer’s request, granted additional time for the investigation, extended the interim pre-arrest bail until July 28, and instructed the NCCIA to submit a complete investigation report at the next hearing.
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This marks the second extension of the interim relief. The court initially granted pre-arrest bail to Chaddar on June 5, preventing his arrest until June 24, before extending the relief on July 2 until July 13.
The case stems from a complaint filed by actor Momina Iqbal, which led to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) on June 4. The FIR accuses Chaddar and his wife of engaging in a prolonged campaign of cyber harassment, stalking, intimidation and blackmail.
Earlier, on May 20, Momina publicly alleged through social media that she had faced persistent online harassment, cyberbullying and death threats, causing severe mental distress to her and her family. Although she did not initially name anyone, she claimed that a PML-N lawmaker had been threatening her for an extended period and appealed for action after alleging that previous complaints to the NCCIA and the Federal Investigation Agency had produced no results.
In a subsequent complaint submitted to Lahore police, the actor alleged that Chaddar subjected her to continuous harassment after she rejected his marriage proposal and ended their relationship in 2022. She claimed he used threatening phone calls, WhatsApp messages, fake social media accounts and AI-generated images to intimidate her and damage her reputation ahead of her planned marriage.
The complaint further alleged that explicit AI-edited images were sent to her and her family members, while threatening calls targeted her fiancé and his relatives. Momina also accused the lawmaker of attempting to use political influence to obstruct legal action.
Following the allegations, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz stated that the matter would be handled strictly according to the law and warned that any attempt to misuse influence or blackmail individuals through private content would face firm legal action.
The NCCIA is expected to submit its investigation report when the case returns to court on July 28.
