LAHORE — A National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) official on Tuesday formally informed a sessions court that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Saqib Chadhar has been found guilty of harassing actress Momina Iqbal following a thorough investigation. The disclosure was made by NCCIA Lahore Station House Officer (SHO) Najam Bajwa during a hearing presided over by Additional District and Sessions Judge Nusrat Ali Siddiqui. The court was reviewing the pre-arrest bail petitions of the lawmaker and his wife, both of whom are named in the First Information Report (FIR) registered in June. While the investigator noted that Chadhar’s wife had surrendered her mobile phone for forensic analysis two days prior, the judge ultimately extended the couple’s interim pre-arrest bail until September 3, directing both legal teams to present final arguments at the next hearing.
The high-profile cybercrime case originated in May 2026 after Momina Iqbal’s social media appeal went viral, catching the attention of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and senior PML-N leadership. Iqbal publicly alleged that she and her family had faced prolonged cyberbullying, mental trauma, and death threats from a ruling party lawmaker. According to her official police application, the harassment escalated into blackmail, abusive WhatsApp messages, and threatening calls after she rejected a marriage proposal from Chadhar, who she discovered was already married to two women. In response to the growing public outcry, the NCCIA registered a case under various sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Pakistan Penal Code, leading to the current judicial proceedings despite initial allegations that political pressure was used to suppress the actor’s complaints.
