ISLAMABAD: A local court on Friday granted interim bail to a TikToker in connection with the forest fire case.

Nosheen Saeed alias Doli applied for the pre-arrest bail after registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against her for setting the forest ablaze for making a video.

Two separate TikTok videos went viral on social media this week: one showing two youngsters setting the forest ablaze on Margalla Hills and the other of Doli performing in front of a fire in the forest.

Additional district and sessions judge Abida Sajjad took up the application of Doli seeking pre-arrest bail.

Her counsel argued that the forest was already under fire when the TikToker visited there and that the area did not fall within the territorial jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

The court granted interim bail to her till May 27 and sought record from the Kohsar police station.

Case against anchorperson

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday granted interim bail to anchorperson Sami Ibrahim for uploading a vlog which allegedly contained derogatory remarks against the army and the judiciary.

The FIR against Mr Ibrahim was registered in the district of Attock. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah accepted the bail against Rs10,000 surety bonds.

Raja Amir Abbas, counsel for Mr Ibrahim, argued before the chief justice that Attok police registered the FIR in violation of the court’s earlier direction passed on a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders Fawad Chaudhry and others.

Justice Minallah remarked that the restraining order was issued in a different matter and for a specific political party which alleged that the incident occurred in Saudi Arabia and cases against them were politically motivated.

The chief justice observed that the case of Mr Ibrahim was different and since the FIR was registered in Attock, the area did not fall within the territorial jurisdiction of the IHC, hence the court cannot intervene in the case. The court, however, granted one-week’s protective bail to Mr Ibrahim and advised him to appear before the trial court concerned.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2022