LAHORE: A Sessions Court in Lahore on Tuesday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Saqib Chadhar and his wife Samira Chadhar till September 3 in the high-profile harassment and criminal intimidation case filed by television actress Momina Iqbal.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Nusrat Ali Siddiqi heard the bail petitions. The investigating officer of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) appeared before the court and submitted a progress report.
سیشن کورٹ لاہور
اداکارہ مومنہ اقبال کو ہراساں کرنے اور دھمکیاں دینے کا مقدمہ
این سی سی آئی اے نے لیگی ایم پی اے ثاقب چدھڑ کو قصور وار قرار دیا عدالت نے عبوری ضمانت میں تین ستمبر تک توسیع کردی pic.twitter.com/ULLHmsDk9A— Arshad Ali (@ArshadAliUmar) July 28, 2026
According to the report, the NCCIA investigation has found MPA Saqib Chadhar guilty of the offences alleged by the actress. The IO informed the court that forensic analysis of mobile phones, SIMs and other digital devices has corroborated the complaint.
The court, while extending the interim bail, directed the accused to continue joining the investigation and directed the NCCIA to submit its complete challan / final investigation report at the next hearing on September 3.
Background of the Case:
The NCCIA had registered a case against Chadhar on June 4, 2026 on the complaint of actress Momina Iqbal.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Chadhar, his wife and their “known and unknown associates have waged a sustained campaign of cyber harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation, blackmail, defamation, unlawful surveillance, and threats against her and her family”.
Iqbal alleged that after she rejected Chadhar’s marriage proposal upon discovering that he was already married, he “retaliated with repeated threats, attempts to access her private data, sending violent content, and blackmailing via her private videos”. She further alleged that the MPA defamed her socially and professionally, sabotaged her 2023 marriage proposal and intensified threats to leak private material and harm her and her fiancé ahead of her upcoming marriage.
In her complaint filed at Chung Police Station on May 22, the actress stated she had been subjected to “continuous harassment, death threats, and psychological torture” after ending ties with him in 2022, including threatening calls, WhatsApp messages, fake social media activity and AI-generated images.
The case was registered under Section 3 (unauthorised access to information system), Section 4 (unauthorised copying or transmission of data), Section 21 (offences against modesty) and Section 24 (cyber stalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), read with Sections 506, 201, 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The matter came to light after Momina Iqbal posted a public appeal on Instagram alleging online harassment, cyberbullying and death threats, tagging PML-N leadership including Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. She claimed she had repeatedly reported the matter to the NCCIA and FIA but no action was taken.
Anticipating arrest, Chadhar had secured interim pre-arrest bail on June 6 from Additional District and Sessions Judge Irfan Ahmad Sheikh.
The court has been extending the bail since then to allow the NCCIA to complete its forensic examination. At the last hearing on July 28, the court had extended bail till July 28 and directed the IO to submit a complete report, while noting that mobile phones of the suspects had been sent for forensic examination.
MPA Chadhar, in his statement submitted to the NCCIA, has denied the allegations, claiming they are false and that he had developed close relations with the actress since 2020.
The next hearing will be held on September 3.
