LAHORE: Actress Momina Iqbal has expressed concerns about potential preferential treatment afforded to politically influential individuals, a day after Lahore Sessions Court extended interim pre-arrest bail for provincial assembly member Saqib Chadhar and his wife until July 13, with directives to cooperate with ongoing investigations.
The development which took place the other day has prompted actress Momina Iqbal to publicly question the equitability of legal proceedings for influential versus ordinary citizens.
In a statement posted to Instagram, she suggested that political position was being exploited for procedural advantages.
She alleged that her representatives faced repeated harassment, surveillance, and intimidation while pursuing the case. She posed a direct question about judicial consistency: whether cases involving ordinary citizens receive comparable treatment or if influential individuals secure repeated bail extensions more readily.
“Earlier I thought that influence was limited to Bhawana only, but now I feel that being an MPA is being taken full advantage of,” Iqbal wrote, referencing the provincial assembly position. She further questioned whether common citizens experience the same judicial process or if repeated dates are reserved for those with political connections.
The matter, it may be added here, came to light in May when Momina Iqbal reported months of online harassment, cyberbullying, and death threats. She subsequently filed a formal application naming Saqib Chadhar, alleging threatening behavior toward herself and her fiancé following rejection of a marriage proposal. Her sister also reportedly received threatening messages.
The National Cybercrime Cell registered a case against Chadhar on June 4 under cybercrime and related charges. He received interim pre-arrest bail on June 5, which has been extended multiple times since then, most recently on Thursday.
The Lahore Sessions Court directed both Chadhar and his wife to join the investigation, while seeking a progress report from the prosecution for the next hearing.
