LAHORE: A sessions court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking registration of a criminal case against former president Dr Arif Alvi.

The court announced the reserved verdict on a plea filed by a citizen, Shahzada Adnan.

In its verdict, the court noted that the government had established the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to deal with social media-related matters. Therefore, the court said, the petitioner may approach the NCCIA for the redressal of his grievance.

The petitioner asked the court to order the police to register a case against the former president, alleging that he used blasphemous language. He claimed that despite submitting an application to the police, no FIR had been registered.

However, the court dismissed the petition, asking the petitioner to pursue the appropriate legal forum established for such cases.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025