Lahore court extends pre-arrest bail of PML-N MPA accused of harassing television actress Momina Iqbal

LAHORE: A sessions court extended on Thursday the interim pre-arrest bail of PML-N MPA Saqib Chadhar and his wife — both of whom have been facing legal proceedings for allegedly harassing television actress Momina Iqbal — till July 13. Additional District and Sessions Judge Nusrat Ali Siddiqi presided over the hearing, during which Chadhar appeared before the court along with his counsel, Mian Ali Ashfaq. However, Chadhar’s wife did not attend the hearing, citing health reasons. Judge Siddiqi, concluding the hearing, extended Chadhar’s and his wife’s bail, directed them to join the investigation initiated against them and instructed the prosecution to submit a progress report of the probe at the next hearing on July 13. Case origins The case garnered attention after a social media appeal by Momina Iqbal went viral in May and drew the attention of senior PML-N leadership, especially Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. In her online post, tagged to the PML-N leadership, Iqbal alleged that she had been subjected to “online harassment, cyberbullying, and death threats for a long time”. She claimed that both she and her family had suffered severe mental stress and trauma because of the alleged conduct of the MPA, whose identity she did not disclose publicly at the time. “A member of the provincial assembly belonging to the PML-N has been threatening me for an extended period. I repeatedly reported the matter to the NCCIA and the Federal Investigation Agency, but no action was taken,” she stated. Instead of ensuring justice, attempts were allegedly made to suppress the complaints, Iqbal claimed. “Even individuals associated with the office of the chief minister tried to discourage me and silence the issue rather than allowing a fair investigation.” Subsequently, the PML-N’s “top leadership directed the NCCIA to immediately entertain the actor’s complaint and initiate action against the ruling party MPA if the allegations are proven”, a source had told Dawn. The source added that