ISLAMABAD: A civil court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case related to making misleading allegations against state institutions and tarnishing their reputation.

Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah, while hearing the case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), observed that the accused failed to appear before the court despite being summoned.

Subsequently, he ordered CM Afridi’s arrest and directed the authorities to produce him before the court.

The court had issued the non-bailable arrest warrant for CM Afridi in the case at a previous hearing on Jan 4 as well over his repeated absences.

The hearing was adjourned till February 10.

During that hearing, Judge Shah had observed that the CM repeatedly ignored summons and remained absent from proceedings without any justification. The court had noted that despite being given multiple opportunities to present himself before the court and respond to the allegations, the CM failed to comply with judicial directions.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2026