KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed former president Dr Arif Alvi and his family members to immediately join an inquiry initiated against them by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

A two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, also directed them to extend full cooperation to the inquiry officer. The petitioners, who are out of the country, must return as soon as possible to join the inquiry, the bench directed.

The IO informed the SHC that the petitioners would not be detained if they returned to the country and appeared before him to join the inquiry.

Dr Alvi, his wife Samina Alvi, their son Awab Alvi and daughter-in-law Sadiqa Awab Alvi had approached the SHC in May against the blocking of their bank accounts, reportedly on the directives of the NCCIA under alleged provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and other laws.

Arif Alvi, his family won’t be detained if they come back to Pakistan, IO tells constitutional bench

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, the petitioners’ counsel Ali Tahir argued that the NCCIA has no lawful authority to block bank accounts and the petitioners had not committed any offence.

The inquiry officer, Inspector Asim Shahjahan of the NCCIA, submitted that despite being served notices, the petitioners were not joining the inquiry.

The lawyer submitted that the petitioners were out of the country, at which point the bench remarked on why the petitioners were avoiding the inquiry if they had not committed any crime.

The bench in its order said: “All the petitioners, who are above 18 years, are directed to come Pakistan and immediately join the inquiry and give full cooperation to the IO.“

Adjourning the hearing till Oct 25, it also directed the IO to complete the inquiry in respect of those petitioners who return to Pakistan before the next hearing.

“Petitioners shall ensure that they should come Pakistan as soon as possible and join inquiry so that the enquiry can be finalised,“ the bench in its order added.

The IO assured the bench that none of the petitioners would be detained if they returned and appeared before him at the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre (CCRC) of the NCCIA in Islamabad to join the inquiry.

Earlier, citing the Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, NCCIA, various private banks and others as respondents, the petitioners had contended that the NCCIA had mailed an undated letter to all commercial banks in which the petitioners held accounts and directed them to block the accounts in question, citing Section 25 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, and Section 5 of the Federal Investigation Agency Act, 1974.

They also submitted that the NCCIA had reportedly initiated baseless inquiries against Mr Alvi under Sections 298 (uttering words, etc, with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 298-A (use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of holy personages) of the Pakistan Penal Code, pertaining to extremely sensitive blasphemy-related allegations.

The petitioners’ counsel submitted that the former president and his family have been subjected to political victimisation for a considerable and continuous period, and such a campaign was seemingly driven by mala fide intent and politically motivated hostility, which has now escalated to an alarming level.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025