ISLAMABAD: A local court on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi in a case registered against him by National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) over his misleading remarks about state institutions.
Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah while hearing the case, issued the warrants against Afridi due to his continuous absence from the proceeding of the case. The court ordered police to arrest the chief minister and produce him before the court.
The court adjourned hearing of the case till January 17.
The case relates to allegations that Afridi made misleading remarks against state institutions and damaged their credibility. The NCCIA registered the case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
‘Hate speech’: FIR lodged against KP CM Afridi
A first information report (FIR) was registered against Afridi on behalf of the state and under Sections 11, 20 and 26-A of PECA.
According to the FIR that following an inquiry dated November 8, it transpired that Afridi and others had “knowingly and deliberately, with mala fide intentions and ulterior motives, uttered false, misleading, derogatory and intimidating words against state institutions, which were recorded [and] disseminated and propagated” through social media platforms.
It said that in a video uploaded on the social media, Afridi had made a statement “containing offensive, profane, false, misleading and unfounded allegations, with the intent to malign, defame and cause harm to the reputation and integrity of the state institutions of Pakistan.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026