LAHORE: The Director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency in Lahore has been transferred, with a notification issued by the Establishment Division placing his services at the disposal of the Ministry of Interior.
Muhammad Ali Waseem has been transferred from his post as NCCIA Lahore director. According to the Establishment Division, Ali Waseem is a Grade 19 officer of the Police Service.
The case against Saqib Chadhar was registered during Ali Waseem’s tenure.
The investigation of the case will now be conducted afresh by a joint investigation team.
The transfer notification and the existence of the case are both matters of record. A connection between them is not.
Transfers of Grade 19 police officers are issued routinely by the Establishment Division and occur for reasons ranging from tenure completion to administrative requirement. No reason has been stated in this instance, and none should be inferred.
What can be reported is the sequence: the officer held the post when the case was registered, he has been transferred, and the investigation is being restarted under a joint investigation team.
The case concerns harassment allegations made by actress Momina Iqbal against PML-N MPA Saqib Chadhar. It is under investigation and no charges have been established.
The allegations are untested. Saqib Chadhar has not been convicted of any offence and retains the presumption of innocence.
Transferring an investigation to a joint investigation team is a significant procedural step rather than a routine one.
A JIT draws officers from multiple agencies and operates with a collective mandate, which distributes responsibility for the outcome across institutions rather than concentrating it in a single investigating officer. In cases involving politically connected individuals, that structure is intended to insulate the investigation from pressure applied at any one point.
The corresponding criticism is that a JIT restarts work already done. Evidence gathered by the previous investigating officer must be reviewed afresh, witnesses re-examined, and timelines re-established — a process that in practice adds months.
For a complainant, that delay is not neutral. Cases involving harassment allegations against public figures have a documented pattern of attrition, in which the passage of time and the pressure of publicity produce withdrawal before trial.
The Lahore Times has approached MPA Saqib Chadhar and his representatives for comment on the allegations and on the reconstitution of the investigation. We have also sought comment from the Establishment Division on the reason for the transfer, and from the NCCIA on the composition and mandate of the joint investigation team.
Any responses received will be published in full.
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