ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday in a case wherein he has been accused of making misleading statements against state institutions and tarnishing their reputation.

The case has been registered with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah presided over the case’s proceedings and observed that the KP chief minister had failed to appear before the court despite being summoned.

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

The case’s hearing was adjourned till February 10.

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

During that hearing, Judge Shah had observed that the CM repeatedly ignored summons and remained absent from proceedings without any lawful 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.

The court had taken a serious view of Afridi’s persistent non-appearance and termed it a deliberate attempt to evade the legal process.