Noreen’s lawyer says NCCIA ordered her to appear in court Tuesday; legal team needs four weeks to respond
Photo of Noreen Niazi, sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. PHOTO: SCREENSHOT
ISLAMABAD:
The lawyer for Noreen Niazi, the sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, said on Monday that a first written response was submitted to the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) after the agency sent her a notice regarding a controversial interview.
On Saturday, the NCCIA summoned Noreen for investigation after she gave an interview, alleging that the operation Marka-e-Haq was a collaboration between the Pakistani armed forces and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to reporters after appearing before the NCCIA, lawyer Faisal Malik said Noreen Niazi became aware of the notice through social media on Monday morning, following which her legal team submitted a preliminary written response to the agency.
Malik said the defense requested a copy of any complaint filed against his client and asked the agency to clarify the legal provisions under which the notice was issued.
He said the NCCIA ordered Noreen to appear in person before the agency on Tuesday. However, the legal team had requested four weeks to submit a detailed response to the notice.
Quoting his client, Malik said Noreen claimed that “as a Pakistani, she respects all institutions of the state” and “could never do anything that would bring disrepute to Pakistan.”
Read: “There will be no leniency”, warns Talal following Noreen Niazi’s comments
Malik added that Noreen Niazi would not be able to appear before the NCCIA on Tuesday.
According to a notice issued by the NCCIA Cyber Crime Reporting Center on Saturday, Noreen had been asked to appear before the agency on Monday to record her statement as part of the investigation.
The notice, issued under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code, said the NCCIA was conducting proceedings in the matter.
The notice directed him to appear in person at the NCCIA Cybercrime Reporting Center in Islamabad to record his statement. He warned that failure to comply would mean “you have nothing to present or declare in your defence” and would be punished under Section 174 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
The notice was issued after Noreen made remarks regarding Marka-e-Haq and the Pakistani army during an interview on a YouTube channel.
In the interview, Noreen claimed that Marka-e-Haq was a collaboration between the Pakistani armed forces and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She further claimed that India had refrained from attacking Pakistan at Israel’s request because Pakistan was moving to recognize Israel.
“Modi could have fixed them in two minutes if he wanted to. Why did Modi stop? What was he afraid of? India is such a big country. Look at this country and then look at yourself,” she said.
She also claimed that Israel was “behind” the developments and asserted that Pakistan was ready to join countries that had established diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
