Peshawar High Court (PHC) has granted transit pre-arrest bail to Noreen Niazi, sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
The court directed Noreen to approach the relevant Islamabad court for bail by August 20. The order will remain effective until that date.
A single-member bench comprising Justice Arshad Ali heard Noreen’s petition, which was filed through lawyers Ali Zaman, Amir Zeb and Barrister Sarwar Muzaffar Shah.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) registered a case against Noreen on July 27 at its Islamabad police station under provisions of PECA and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The case relates to Noreen’s statements during a podcast appearance. The NCCIA had earlier summoned her to appear before the agency on July 20 over allegations of sharing “false, offensive and inflammatory” content.
In its order, the PHC noted that Noreen had claimed she was falsely implicated in the case. The court observed that, apart from the allegations contained in the FIR [First Information Report], there was no other evidence on record connecting her to the alleged offence.
“In the circumstances of the case, the petitioner’s request, being reasonable, merits consideration,” the order stated.
The court granted her ad-interim transit pre-arrest bail against bail bonds of Rs80,000 with two sureties and directed her to approach the competent court in Islamabad by August 20.
During the hearing, Noreen’s lawyers maintained that she was innocent and had been falsely implicated. They alleged that police were attempting to arrest her with mala fide intentions and to harass her.
The lawyers also argued that the allegations in the FIR were false and politically motivated and resulted from what they described as an incorrect interpretation of statements attributed to Noreen.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Noreen said that she learned about the NCCIA case after reaching Peshawar.
“I did speak inside my house, which I do not have recollection of, and someone got that to them and they made a case against me,” she claimed.
She also alleged that cases had been registered against her other sisters and said, “Too many cases are being registered across Pakistan, and no one knows why they have been lodged. The case against me is the same.”
Responding to a question, Noreen said that she and her sisters had never visited Peshawar and therefore there was no question of them interfering in affairs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Earlier, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted Noreen interim protective bail and directed her to approach the relevant Islamabad court.
The NCCIA’s action followed the circulation of a video clip in which Noreen discussed last year’s brief military conflict between Pakistan and India.
In the clip, she alleged that the conflict had been “orchestrated” to improve the image of Pakistan’s military. She also claimed that the events were carried out in collaboration with Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi.
Noreen further alleged that the objective was to secure recognition of Israel by Pakistan and linked US President Donald Trump’s praise for Pakistan’s leadership to the issue.
