ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Seemabia Tahir in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Separately, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi heard a case registered against Aleema Khan in connection with the November 26 protest and re-summoned two prosecution witnesses for cross-examination.

Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro passed the order during hearings her petition.

Ms Tahir appeared before the court along with her lawyers and filed a pre-arrest bail application, contending that the FIA had registered a case against her under the PECA Act and that she apprehended imminent arrest.

After hearing preliminary arguments, Justice Soomro granted interim bail to Ms Tahir until the next hearing. The court also issued a notice to the FIA, restraining the agency from arresting her, and sought a reply from the respondents. The hearing was adjourned until June 17.

In a separate proceeding, Justice Soomro took up the matter of Sardar Tanveer Ilyas’s application for protective bail in unknown cases. The registrar’s office had raised several objections on the plea, including the absence of biometric verification and issues related to the power of attorney.

The court noted that neither the petitioner nor his lawyer appeared before the registrar during the hearing on these objections. Consequently, the court dismissed the application filed by the registrar’s office regarding the objections.

However, Justice Soomro directed the registrar’s office to remove all objections, including the one pertaining to the power of attorney, within seven days. The court upheld the objections but gave a clear deadline for their removal to ensure the application could proceed on merits.

Meanwhile, in Rawalpindi, the ATC heard a case registered against Aleema Khan in connection with the November 26 protest. Judge Amjad Ali Shah conducted the proceedings.

Aleema Khan appeared before the court along with her legal counsel. Special Prosecutor Zaheer Shah also appeared along with his team.

During the hearing, the defense counsel requested the court to re-summon two prosecution witnesses for cross-examination. The court accepted the request and re-summoned the witnesses today. The witnesses include Investigation Officer (IO) Raja Iftikhar and PEMRA Deputy Director Nadir Khan.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2026