ISLAMABAD: A local court in Islamabad on Saturday once again reissued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi after he failed to appear before it in a case pertaining to derogatory remarks against state institutions.

The case was registered on Nov 9, 2025, by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, following allegations that the KP CM made false and defamatory claims against state institutions.

This is the fourth time the court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the KP chief minister in this case, with two issued in January and another on February 10.

As during a previous hearing, Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Abbas Shah today ordered the immediate arrest and production of CM Afridi, noting that the latter had consistently ignored multiple summons and remained absent without any lawful justification.

The court then adjourned the hearing until March 9.

During the January 28 hearing, the court had termed Afridi’s persistent non-appearance a deliberate attempt to evade the legal process and emphasised that he had been given multiple opportunities to appear and respond to the allegations.

According to the first information report (FIR), the case stems from remarks made by CM Afridi during a media interaction outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail three days prior.

He had allegedly accused security forces of bringing dogs inside mosques in KP and tying them there — an accusation widely condemned for allegedly violating the sanctity of holy places.

Following an inquiry conducted on November 8, authorities concluded that CM Afridi and others had “knowingly and deliberately, with mala fide intentions and ulterior motives”, made false, misleading, and intimidating statements against state institutions.

The FIR contended that the video contained “offensive, profane, false, misleading and unfounded allegations” intended to malign and defame state institutions and harm their reputation.

Investigators had alleged that the content formed part of an organised campaign to undermine public trust in state institutions, incite unrest, promote racial hatred and destabilise national security.

The investigating team has further accused Afridi of preparing and circulating fake content on social media with the intention to incite violence, create panic and promote anti-state sentiments deemed harmful to Pakistan’s security and stability.