Islamabad court issues arrest warrants for non-appearance as Afridi prepares for visit to Karachi on January 9
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. SCREENSHOT
An Islamabad court on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case involving alleged misleading statements against state institutions.
Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah of the District and Sessions Court of Islamabad issued the arrest warrants after Afridi failed to appear before the court during the hearing.
The case concerns allegations that Afridi made misleading remarks against state institutions and damaged their credibility. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency registered the case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
Read: PTI moves mobilization south
PECA is Pakistan’s primary legal framework dealing with cybercrime, data protection and electronic crimes.
The court ordered the authorities to arrest Afridi and produce him before the court. The hearing was adjourned until January 17.
The development comes as Afridi prepares to take the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf street movement to Sindh. After a three-day visit to Punjab as part of the campaign, he sent a two-page letter of protest to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
Learn more: Afridi writes to Maryam about ‘hostile treatment’
Afridi is expected to visit Karachi on January 9 as part of the next phase of the campaign.
The PTI announced a nationwide street movement after party founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife were sentenced to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case. Imran Khan asked Afridi to create momentum for a big show of power scheduled for February 8.
