LAHORE: A Lahore judicial magistrate has fixed September 12, 2026 for cross-examination in the cybercrime case brought by Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari over the circulation of a fake video, after the minister’s statement was recorded this week.
Ms Bokhari said in a statement that she had personally asked the court to have the accused, Falak Javed, produced from jail so that she could record her statement in her presence, and that she had waited a considerable time before the defence sought another adjournment.
The case was registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act on Ms Bokhari’s complaint, and concerns a fake video circulated on social media in July 2024. Falak Javed is a PTI social media activist and a sister of PTI leader Sanam Javed. She was arrested by the NCCIA in September 2025; charges were framed against her, co-accused Atiq Riaz and four others in December 2025, and all six pleaded not guilty. The Lahore High Court granted post-arrest bail to Javed and co-suspect Muhammad Shafiq in April 2026 against surety bonds of Rs 1 million.
At the hearing before Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo, Ms Bokhari told the court she was the complainant and not an accused, and said she had seen posts claiming a video of her had leaked on the night of July 24-25, 2024, before the material spread widely.
Defence counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq objected to proceeding before his client was produced, and after the statement was recorded said he would require at least six hours for cross-examination. He alleged the case had been delayed for a year. The magistrate rejected the suggestion that the courts were responsible, saying defence lawyers had sought adjournments and that court decisions had also been challenged, adding that the court had neither given special treatment nor taken extraordinary action.
An earlier attempt by Ms Bokhari to record her testimony by video link was rejected by a sessions court, which upheld a lower court’s requirement that she appear in person.
Ms Bokhari said targeting a woman’s honour and dignity through fake videos was not a political disagreement but a direct attack on women, and that those who had made fake news and character assassination a political weapon would answer before the court. She said action would be taken under Section 352(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure over disruption of proceedings.
The charges are unproven and all accused have pleaded not guilty. The matter is sub judice.
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